


make the yuletide gay

by woodchoc_magnum



Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [18]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Domestic Fluff, Family Drama, M/M, Married Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Soft Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Soft Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Texas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:13:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 27,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28215273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodchoc_magnum/pseuds/woodchoc_magnum
Summary: In which Buck, Eddie and Christopher travel to El Paso for Christmas with Eddie's family, and much drama ensues.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816843
Comments: 112
Kudos: 499





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I have never been to El Paso and I did a bunch of googling and I hope this is semi-accurate.
> 
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been following along and commenting on this series - I'm so glad you're all still enjoying it! 
> 
> I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas (or whatever holiday you do celebrate or don't celebrate)!

"You should've taken the window seat," Eddie complained, as Buck leaned over him again to peer out at the desert below. "Baby, do you want to swap?"

"No, I'm cool," Buck replied, as Christopher giggled from the aisle seat. "We're landing. The captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign."

Eddie sighed, resting his hand on Buck's back, sharing an affectionate look with Christopher. "You'd think you'd never been on a plane before."

"I've never been to Texas," Buck replied, briefly turning from the window long enough to brush his lips against Eddie's. "Can we get a Whataburger?"

"You think that Christopher and I have come all the way back to El Paso and we're not going to get a Whataburger," Eddie said dryly.

"It's on the list," Christopher declared. "We're doing everything on the list!"

"We're only here for four days," Eddie pointed out. "The list is not doable with Christmas in the middle."

"Not with that attitude," Buck remarked, and then suddenly gasped as the skyline came into view. "Is that the Wells Fargo building?"

Eddie pushed him back into his seat and looked out the window. "How the hell did you know that?"

"All the extensive research I've done on El Paso in the last few weeks," Buck replied smugly, taking Eddie's hand and threading their fingers together. "I'm an expert. We need to get cowboy hats though; that's very important."

Eddie just shook his head. "I'm surprised you don't also want to get cowboy boots and spurs. Do you want me to get you some chaps as well?"

Buck smirked at him. "If that's what you want."

Eddie's mouth went dry. "We'll see."

~~

"Hi boys," Adriana called, dipping her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose as they walked towards her, sipping a cup of coffee. "Nice flight?"

"Great flight," Buck replied, as Sophia rushed towards Eddie and threw her arms around him in a hug.

Buck caught a confused look flash across Adriana's face, but he distracted her with a hug of his own, kissing her on the cheek. "How are you, sis?"

"Oh, I'm fine – everything's peachy, you know me." Adriana knelt down to regard Christopher seriously. "Are we going to talk about how tall you are? When did this happen, huh? I thought we had a serious conversation about you not growing anymore!"

He giggled. "I'm sorry; I can't help it."

"Aw, that's okay, we'll allow it." Adriana gave him a hug, rising to her feet just as Sophia and Eddie parted.

She was on the verge of tears, so Buck swept her up into his arms, rubbing her back reassuringly. "Hey. How are you?"

"Not great," she whispered in his ear.

"Told her yet?"

"No." Sophia clung to him. "I'm so glad you guys are here."

"Us too." He released her, and turned to look at the baggage carousel. "All right, I'll get our stuff. Eds, get me a cold drink, please?"

"He's always ordering me around," Eddie complained to his sisters. "I thought marriage was meant to be much more romantic than this."

"The magic is gone," Adriana proclaimed. "It always happens. Maybe not this quickly, but it does happen. Let's go."

Buck jogged over to retrieve their luggage. Once he had their bags, he found them near a Starbucks. Eddie held up an iced tea, and Buck took it from him gratefully. "Thanks babe. Sweet iced tea?"

"Texas special," Eddie replied, taking Christopher's bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "All right, let's go check into our Airbnb."

~

It was in Adriana's very large, white, luxury Escalade that she said, "I have a few things to tell you about Mom and Dad before I take you to see them this afternoon."

Buck exchanged a look with Eddie, who rolled his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked curiously.

"Well, number one, they're very unhappy about you booking into an Airbnb instead of staying with them at the house. Mom pointed out repeatedly that there is a whole guest room with an en suite, and that Christopher still has his own room there, and she feels that Buck doesn't feel comfortable around them."

Buck made a face. Eddie said, "I booked the Airbnb. Not Buck. We got a great deal on a place that's accessible for Christopher. It even has a shower chair. Mom was talking about buying all this stuff and I just… felt like we would be putting them out."

Sophia turned around in the front passenger seat to face them and said, "Don't worry about it; you know what she's like."

Eddie nodded, rolling his eyes. "What's the other thing?"

"Well, Dad wants to take you and Buck on a tour of some of the construction sites they're working on tomorrow. Christopher can hang out with his cousins while you guys go with Dad. I don't know what plans you've made, but I don't think you'll be able to get out of that," Adriana said. "Sorry."

"Buck has a list of things he wants to cram into four days. Was Dad okay with me borrowing the truck?" Eddie asked, leaning forward. "He never got back to me."

"Yeah, you can pick it up this afternoon from the house." Adriana glanced at them in the rear-view mirror. "And the other thing, Buck Buckley. Are you listening?"

"Yes ma'am," he said, though he was staring out the window with interest. "It's so dry. I can't get over it. No palm trees."

"Yeah, that's purely an LA thing," Eddie said, leaning over Christopher to point out Buck's window. "That's where I went to high school."

"Oh, can we pull over and take a picture?" Buck asked Adriana, who shook her head.

"We're not stopping to take pictures at every place Eddie has ever been to in this town," she replied bluntly.

"But—"

"No buts, Buck. Listen to me. You've got a very important job."

He glanced at Eddie. "What's that? I already said I'd help you cook."

"No, our Grandpa is coming for Christmas," Sophia said, turning to face them again. "Grandpa Bill, Mom's dad. He's flown in all the way from Florida for Christmas, because he wasn't able to attend the wedding, and you need to make a good impression."

Eddie grimaced. "On Grandpa? He's not going to care."

"He does care, because his only grandson – his pride and joy," Adriana remarked, "is gay and married to a man, and he was not able to come to the wedding, and he hasn't seen Eddie in a long time."

"Not more people in this family I have to impress," Buck complained.

"Yes, you've got to be on your best behaviour," Adriana continued. "You know what these people are like. They're fickle, Buck. Don't think you've won them over just yet."

Buck rolled his eyes, shaking his head at Eddie, who reached out to brush his fingers against his cheek lovingly. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "I'll work my magic, don't worry."

Sophia turned around again. "And Dad is also upset that you did not consult with him before buying your house."

"Technically we don't own it yet," Eddie pointed out. "We're still in escrow. We have another six weeks before it's ours."

"Yeah, but… you didn't ask him for his advice, and he doesn't know how you have the money—"

"That's none of his business," Eddie cut in. "Our money is our money."

"But you're both firefighters and you're buying a pretty big house, dude," Adriana pointed out.

"A pretty big house that is pretty rundown," Buck pointed out, and then gasped. "Is that – Eddie! Is that Whataburger? Can we stop?"

"No," Adriana snapped. "We're on a strict schedule. Mom and Dad are putting on lunch for you guys."

"We'll get burgers for dinner one night, I promise," Eddie said to him.

"So how'd you get the money for the down payment?" Sophia pressed.

Eddie shrugged at her. "None of your business."

"Dad looked up the price; he's going to ask."

"I don't ask you about your finances!"

"Yeah, but you've always been notoriously terrible with money," Adriana pointed out. "Our parents haven't forgotten that, you know."

Eddie huffed, and before it could turn into a full-blown Diaz siblings argument, Buck said, "I'm great with money. And I come from a rich family. Put two and two together."

" _Oh_ ," Adriana and Sophia said at the same time.

"Sugar daddy," Adriana added.

Buck grinned, glancing at Eddie, who was rubbing his forehead in frustration. "I never thought of it like that."

"You're not. You're _younger_ ," Eddie said to him, holding out his hand. "Stop it."

"I feel like I kinda am. Eddie – that's the Wells Fargo building again!"

"Okay, you have to stop talking about El Paso landmarks like they're something special," Eddie begged. "It's just a city near the border, that's all."

"But it's where you grew up and I like seeing where you grew up," Buck pouted at him. "Promise me you'll drive me around to all the places you used to go when you were a kid and tell me all about them."

Eddie screwed his nose up, and then said, with a roll of his eyes, "I promise. But one day we're going to Philly and you're doing the same thing."

"Nobody wants to go to Philly," Buck replied. "But if we do go, we should go in fall. And then do a quick drive up to Vermont – oh, and to Niagara Falls, so you guys can see that. Oh, you know what? Let's scrap Philly and fly into Buffalo instead, and do an East Coast journey. Have you ever had clam chowder? Oh my god, we're definitely doing this," Buck decided. "For our next holiday."

"Whatever you want," Eddie said easily, and then leaned forward to speak to his sisters. "So tell me what Dad said."

"Well, he looked up the property on Zillow and then realised how much you were paying for it and freaked out," Adriana replied, "thinking that you two are going to end up bankrupt or something, and then he was all offended that you'd decided to go ahead with this harebrained scheme without at least talking to him first, and he's a property expert—"

"In El Paso," Eddie stressed. "Not LA. Besides, we have a financial advisor with our bank. We talked this through. It's a good buy for us. It's in a great area – Maddie and Chimney are right around the corner. Carla's close, Christopher's school, work – it's better than where we live now."

"Hey, I'm not arguing any of those things," Adriana replied, waving her hand. "Go nuts. Buy the house you want, but be prepared to deal with our father, who is insane about these things. You know that."

Eddie sighed, slumping against the seat. "This is going to be so fun," he said dryly.

Buck reached over to take his hand. "It'll be great, as long as we do all the things I want to do."

"Oh, that's not asking too much," Eddie remarked.

~~

They checked into their Airbnb and dropped off their stuff – it was just as nice as it looked on the internet, and under a thousand dollars for their four-night stay. It was a one storey open plan bungalow, tiled throughout, with two bedrooms and a fully accessible bathroom, perfect for Christopher. They even had a small pool in the backyard, but it was colder than Los Angeles, and they were all rugged up in their winter clothes. No swimming, though Buck did gaze longingly at it from the kitchen window.

From there they went to their parents' house on the outskirts of the city – it was a large farmhouse with a long driveway, and on the border between their property and their neighbours' was a paddock with two horses. As they rolled to a stop, Buck leapt out of the car and jogged over to the paddock fence. Both horses immediately trotted over to inspect him with interest.

"Making friends already!" Ramon called to Buck from the porch, hurrying over to greet Eddie and Christopher.

Eddie took a step back and let his father embrace Christopher, who was more interested in what Buck was doing, and as soon as he was released followed him over to the fence.

"Hi Dad," Eddie said, and was surprised when Ramon embraced him.

"Good to see you, son," Ramon said in his ear. "Glad you could make it for Christmas."

"Oh, they're here," Helena said as she hurried down the porch stairs. "Where's Christopher?"

Christopher was up in Buck's arms, patting the horses happily.

Helena practically sprinted towards them. "Be careful! Buck, put him down!"

Buck turned around quizzically. "What's wrong?"

"Oh my god," Adriana groaned, turning to Sophia and Eddie with raised eyebrows. "Christopher will be married with kids and she'll still be freaking out. It's a horse, Mom! My kids ride them all the time!"

Buck, the pacifist, simply set Christopher down on the ground, and glanced over at Eddie with a grin. They started back to the group slowly, until Helena said to Buck, "Pick him up."

"He can walk, Mom," Eddie called. "He has brand new crutches. Let him use them."

Helena ignored Eddie. "Buck, please. The ground isn't flat."

"I can walk," Christopher grumbled, and practically stomped back over to the group, ignoring his grandmother.

Buck raised his eyebrows at Eddie and said nothing.

"Well, what's all this then?" a gruff voice called from the porch. Eddie turned to find his mother's father standing there, braced with a walking stick, peering out at them. Grandpa Bill had always seemed ancient to Eddie – his hair had been white right from when Eddie was a little kid. He was still in reasonably good shape, though a lifetime of manual labour had left him with two bad knees.

He hadn't been able to attend their wedding. Eddie hadn't seen him in about five years, but they'd always gotten along well when he was a kid.

"Hey Grandpa," he said, gesturing for Buck and Christopher to follow him. "This is my husband, Evan Buckley."

"Call me Buck," Buck said, holding out his hand. Grandpa Bill shook it instantly, smiling proudly at them.

"You know, I wanted to come," he said to Eddie, leaning on his cane. "I really did. But I came down with a really nasty flu the week before and I was laid up in bed for a week."

"I know, I remember," Eddie replied ruefully, and then knelt so he was at Christopher's eye level. "You remember your great-grandfather, right?"

"Yes," Christopher said shyly. "Hello Grandpa."

"Hello young man," Grandpa Bill replied. "Very tall now, aren't you?"

Christopher nodded.

"Going to be taller than us eventually," Eddie said, ruffling Christopher's hair.

Grandpa Bill leaned in close to him and Buck. "Looking forward to catching up with you both," he said. "I received the photos and video of the wedding. It looked like a great night. I wish I could've been there."

"We did too, Grandpa," Eddie replied. "We'll sit down together, all right?"

"I'm going to hold you to that, my boy."

Eddie grinned. "Fine by me. Come on Buck, let's give you the grand tour."

~~

Eddie's parents' house was the kind of Texan farmhouse Buck had always imagined. It was a two-storey wooden house, with a large wraparound porch. Inside the ceilings were high with exposed beams, soft furnishings and the walls decorated with pictures of the family. Buck stopped at every single picture of Eddie, and had to be coaxed along to the next room.

When the tour was complete, they left Christopher with his grandparents and great-grandfather and followed Adriana and Sophia out to the large backyard. It was filled with play equipment for their many grandchildren, and even boasted a tyre swing from the tall oak tree in the corner of the yard.

"I told you Grandpa was cool with it, right?" Adriana said to Eddie. "He thought it was neat that you were marrying a man. His words, not mine."

"It was pretty neat," Buck agreed, taking in the bright blue Texan sky. "No smog, huh?"

"No smog," Adriana said. "How'd you like Mom's performance out there?"

"We were expecting it, but here's the thing," Eddie said to his sisters. "Christopher is now becoming very independent."

"Very," Buck agreed.

"He likes to do things himself. He won't like being coddled."

"How are we going to handle this?" Sophia asked. "Surely Christopher won't say anything."

Buck grinned. "Oh, you'd be surprised. He stands up for himself."

"He'll let us carry him up and down steps but that's about it," Eddie added. "Oh, but he will demand piggybacks though – it's different if he asks for it. He just doesn't like when someone dictates to him."

"Should be interesting," Adriana said gleefully. "Mom's laid out a whole spread for lunch. Let's go back inside and save your son from his grandparents."

Christopher brightened as soon as they returned to the room. Adriana and Sophia went into the kitchen to help their mother carry food out to the long wooden table on the porch, and Eddie chatted with his father and grandfather while Buck inspected the photos on the wall. He found one of Eddie as a kid, missing his two front teeth, and snickered.

"Don't," Eddie warned.

"How'd you do that? You never told me you lost your two front teeth."

"He fell over on the concrete when he was six," Ramon replied. "They broke. That was an ordeal."

Eddie tapped his teeth, shaking his head. "I was without them for… nearly a year? Until my adult ones grew in."

"Aw," Buck said, smiling affectionately at him. "Kinda cute. Like a little reverse vampire or something."

"Shut up," Eddie laughed. "Stop it."

"No, I like seeing these pictures of you." Buck wandered down to the next group, raising his eyebrows. "Baseball, football, swimming, boxing… track and field…"

Eddie was staring at him with his hands on his hips. "You know this isn't fair," he said. "You get to look at all my childhood stuff and I don't get to see yours."

"Maddie's got baby photos of me." Buck located a wall of wedding pictures – Adriana to Grant, Sophia to Martin and Eddie to Shannon. He pointed to it, turning to Eddie with a raised eyebrow.

Eddie groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Dad, you need to swap out that picture. I sent you and Mom our professional photos."

"That's your mother's deal, not mine," Ramon replied. "The pictures are in an envelope somewhere."

Buck shrugged at Eddie, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You have a really nice property, Mr Diaz."

"Thank you, Buck, we're quite proud of it. How are your parents?"

Buck exchanged a look with Eddie and said, "They're fine. My mother was in a car accident last month when they visited for Thanksgiving, but she's back home now and doing fine." As far as he was aware, anyway – neither he nor Maddie were speaking to them.

"That's good to hear." Ramon turned to Christopher, who was sitting on the couch next to his great-grandfather. "Tell me all about your cat, Christopher."

"Max is _awesome_ ," Christopher gushed, his whole face lighting up. "He's the best cat ever. Buck and I have been teaching him tricks, and Dad's going to build shelves in our new house so he can climb the walls. He's the best cat in the world."

"Who's taking care of him while you're away?" Ramon asked Eddie.

"Carla took him home with her," Eddie replied. "He'll be spoiled rotten for a few days. He'll probably be as big as a house by the time we get back."

"Are you guys going to come out and have lunch or are you just going to let us do all the work?" Adriana suddenly snapped from the doorway, breaking up their little huddle. "Vamanos."

Everybody filed out to the backyard, and Buck was about to follow Eddie when Grandpa Bill grabbed his arm and tugged him back. "Buckley," he said, looking up at him curiously. "Where from?"

"Philadelphia," Buck replied.

"No relation to Dennis Buckley? We were in the war together; Vietnam. Nice fellow."

Buck mentally ran through his family tree, and then shook his head. "I don't think so. Maybe a cousin? But there's no one in my immediate family with that name."

"And you met Eddie at work," he continued.

"Yes, sir."

"You don't have to call me sir, son." Grandpa Bill leaned in confidentially. "I liked you from the moment Eddie first told me about you. You know he's my favourite grandson."

Buck laughed. "Isn't he your only grandson?"

"Yes, but still. I'm very proud of him. Come on, let's get some food."

~

Lunch was a spread of sandwiches, fruit and mixed salads. Conversation was mostly light, but Buck noticed that Sophia was silent, and didn't eat much, not really paying attention to the rest of the group. He was a little concerned about her – she'd lost some of her sparkle, and the fact that her family either hadn't noticed or wasn't paying attention was worrying. Eddie kept shooting looks her way as well, and Buck resolved to make sure they spoke to her alone at some point over the next few days.

Beside him, Christopher was frustrated. Helena kept reaching over to cut food for him, or put extra food on his plate, ignoring Eddie's complaints. "Mom, he doesn't like green apples," Eddie said, reaching over to take the slices from Christopher's plate. "Leave him be; he's fine."

Helena ignored him, reaching over to wipe Christopher's face with a napkin. Christopher silently endured it, and when she was done, glanced up at Buck for help. Buck slid an arm around his shoulders and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"So," Ramon said, breaking the lull in conversation. "This new house of yours, Eddie."

"Ours," Eddie corrected. "Buck and I are buying it together."

"I know you're still in escrow, but I'd be happy to come out and have a look at it for you; check for any structural defects, that kind of thing."

"Thanks, but we've already had two separate inspections done and the house is in good shape," Eddie replied. "Athena's ex-husband, Michael, is an architect, and he was able to give us some recommendations."

"He even did a walk-through with us and Bobby," Buck added. "They were impressed. I mean, not with the décor, but that's okay. We'll figure that part out later."

"The wallpaper is really something," Adriana teased. "I can just see you guys living there. It looks like Grandma's house."

"Has Mom been through yet?" Ramon asked curiously.

Eddie nodded. "Yep, Abuela came with us the last time we did a walk-through. Christopher has been through… twice now, buddy? Picked out his room and everything."

Christopher nodded proudly.

"And you're not worried about having a house with stairs, even with Christopher's mobility issues?" Helena asked Eddie.

He glanced at Buck across the table and then said, "We specifically picked this house because it has bedrooms downstairs. The downstairs bathroom can be modified to suit his needs. We've talked it over with Abuela – if she reaches the point where she doesn't want to live alone anymore, there's space for her to live with us. Pepa is on board – in fact, everyone is," he clarified. "This house ticks a lot of boxes for us."

"Are you sure you're not rushing into anything?" Ramon asked, ignoring Grandpa Bill's exaggerated sigh from the end of the table. "This is a big purchase – we're concerned that you might find yourself in financial trouble."

Eddie shook his head. "Thanks, but we're fine. Buck and I have a financial advisor."

"Plus this house is only going to increase in value once we put some work into it," Buck added. "We're going to do a lot of the renovations ourselves."

Ramon grimaced, shaking his head. "See, I don't know about this. I really think you've made a mistake."

"They're in their thirties, Ramon," Grandpa Bill suddenly snapped. "Leave the boys alone."

Ramon rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm allowed to be concerned. They've bought a house in Los Angeles that quite frankly is worth a lot of money, and I'm not sure they've put a lot of thought into how they're going to pay for it."

"That's none of your business," Grandpa Bill said bluntly.

Adriana and Sophia shared an amused look.

"Dad, please," Helena cut in. "We're just worried—"

"You're always worried; always worried about Eddie. He is an adult," Grandpa Bill stressed. "He is a decorated serviceman and a firefighter; he's married, and he and his husband are buying their first house together. Stop the interrogation."

"We just want to know how they're affording it!" Ramon suddenly snapped.

Buck raised his eyebrows at Eddie, but when Christopher tugged his sleeve, he leaned in close. "What's up?"

"I want to go," Christopher said unhappily.

"Okay. Let's go." Buck pushed his chair out and helped Christopher out of his seat, as Ramon and Grandpa Bill began to shout at each other in earnest. "We'll go talk to the horses again."

Sophia stood up as well and followed them out through the house. Raised voices echoed behind them, and she said to Buck, "You'll have to get used to this. Grandpa and Dad do not get along very well."

He grinned at her. "It's fine."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Is it?"

"Yeah," Buck said, helping Christopher down the front stairs. "At least you guys all care about each other."

"You're too sweet, Buck," she said, as they walked over to the horse yard. "You're far too sweet for this family."

"Nah, not really." Buck helped Christopher with his crutches, and gave him a boost so he was standing on the lowest fence railing, leaning in over his shoulder. The horses trotted over to them – one brown and white, the other a deep brown, almost red. "We should've brought them some snacks."

"I did," Christopher replied, and produced two green apples from either pocket.

"Thief," Sophia said to him, and he grinned at her. "Sneaky. I love it."

They fed the horses the apples. Buck took pictures of Sophia and Christopher on his phone, and she took one of him and Christopher with the horses behind them. He sent it off to the 118 group chat and to Maddie separately.

"We'll get some time alone to talk," he said to her quietly. "Just the three of us."

She nodded, leaning on the fence, the cool wind blowing her dark hair across her face. "Yeah, that'd be good. Hey listen – I know my parents aren't easy, but I really hope you guys have a nice Christmas here. It's nice to have you all here. We missed you last year when you flitted off to New York."

"I loved New York," Christopher said dreamily. "When can we go back?"

"One day, kiddo," Buck promised. "And yeah, I'm looking forward to a proper family Christmas."

"Eddie sent us pictures of your Thanksgiving feast; it looked amazing. I think Mom wants you to help out with the cooking."

"I thought Adriana had already volunteered me," he said dryly.

"Well, she did, but you have the option of saying no."

"Sophia!" Adriana suddenly shouted from the porch. "I need you!"

She let out a groan and pushed away from the fence. "God, she can't do anything for herself," she muttered, and left them alone with the horses.

"You want to go back inside?" Buck asked Christopher, who shook his head.

"No."

Buck had noticed Christopher was more subdued than normal, and regarded him with concern. "Everything okay, buddy?"

"No," he said again, a little glumly. "I hate it here."

"El Paso?"

"Yeah. I hate it. I want to go home."

"Hate's a strong word, buddy. What do you hate about it? Your extended family is here and I know you get along well with your cousins. We're going to do some fun stuff together while we're here."

Christopher shook his head. "I don't like it when people argue."

"Ah," Buck said. "Okay. You don't see much of that with us, do you?"

"No, you and Dad never fight." Christopher looked up at him unhappily. "I remember what it was like before we left. I remember how Dad was sad all the time."

Buck leaned on the fence, looking over at the house. "Your Dad told me about that. I think it was a hard time for everyone, Chris. But listen – all of these people may argue with each other, but at the end of the day, they all love and care about each other as well. I can't promise there won't be any more fights, but how about I make you a deal – if everyone starts arguing, you and I will make a hasty exit and come and pet the horses."

Christopher smiled at him. "Okay. You'll come get me?"

"I will," Buck promised. "And you know what? I'm going to make sure that the three of us have a great time while we're here. We're going to have Christmas morning at our Airbnb, just the three of us, and we're not coming here until the afternoon. So we will have time alone together; I promise. Plus – you and your dad need to show me the sights. We're going sightseeing, aren't we?"

Christopher brightened. "Yeah," he said, smiling up at him. "We can get ice cream."

"Yeah, we can." Buck gave him a hug. "It's okay. We'll be home in no time."

~~

Eddie was on edge right until the moment they left his parents' house in his father's truck, heading back into town. They stopped at a supermarket to pick up some groceries, and Buck piggybacked Christopher as they wandered through the aisles.

"Did you want to make anything special to bring for Christmas dinner?" Eddie asked Buck curiously. "You mentioned a dessert a while ago, but I forgot to ask what you'd decided."

"Oh yeah, I was going to make a cheesecake," Buck said, setting Christopher down onto the floor. "I'll go grab everything and meet you at the front." He paused, and then said, "Your parents like cheesecake, right? I could make some other kind of cake—"

"No, that's fine," Eddie said with a laugh. "Whatever is easiest. You're technically on vacation, you know."

"Yeah, but it's rude to turn up empty-handed, or so my sister tells me," Buck replied, flashing him a grin as he started down the aisle.

Eddie and Christopher continued together and were trying to decide which flavour of ice cream to buy when someone cleared their throat from behind him. "Eddie, is that you?"

He turned around to find Sam Larkin standing behind him – an old high school friend. They'd lost contact after he'd moved to Los Angeles. "Hey, Sam," he said with surprise, holding out his hand so Sam could shake it. "Nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you dropped off the face of the earth," Sam replied with a grin, and then raised his eyebrows at Christopher. "And Christopher had a growth spurt. Hey kiddo – I don't know if you remember me?"

Christopher shook his head. "No, but hi."

"Hi," Sam said with a laugh, pushing his red hair off his forehead. "So, last I heard you were in LA? How's that going? What are you doing out there?"

"I'm a firefighter," Eddie replied, grabbing a container of chocolate ice cream and adding it to their cart. "We're just in town for Christmas."

"See the family," Sam said with a nod. "That's cool. How's Shannon? Did you guys get back together?" he asked, nodding at Eddie's left hand.

"Uh… no," Eddie replied awkwardly. "Um, Shannon passed away a few years ago."

Sam's face dropped. "Oh god. I had no idea. I'm so sorry, man."

"That's okay; you didn't know. It was sudden… and she didn't have any family here, so yeah, figures you wouldn't have been told."

"Yeah, I mean… I see Sophia around sometimes, but I don't know her well enough, you know?" he said awkwardly. "I thought about asking her what you were up to a couple of times but never had the opportunity. So you're remarried?"

"Yeah, my husband is just grabbing some stuff to make a Christmas dessert," Eddie replied – and suddenly realised how easily he'd said it. He'd been worried about the reactions of people he used to know, but he hadn't hesitated when asked the question.

Sure enough, Sam looked gobsmacked. "Husband," he repeated. "Husband?"

Eddie nodded, holding up his left hand again. "Yeah, for six months, nearly."

"Here he comes," Christopher announced, as Buck rounded the corner of the aisle and started towards them, ingredients stacked in his arms.

Sam's eyebrows flew up. "Wow," he said, looking totally bewildered. "Wow, okay."

"Hey," Buck greeted them, dumping his groceries in their cart. "Who's this?"

"This is Sam; we used to go to high school together," Eddie introduced him. "Sam, this is my husband, Buck. Evan Buckley-Diaz."

"Everyone calls me Buck – nice to meet you," Buck said, holding out his hand so Sam could shake it. "Maybe you can tell me some embarrassing stories about Eddie."

Sam laughed, glancing at Eddie quickly. "Not too many embarrassing ones, but I could tell you about the time he tried to slam dunk a basketball and landed flat on his face."

Eddie groaned, but Buck said, "I would like to hear all about that."

"The floor was slippery," Eddie protested.

"Yeah, you keep saying that," Sam teased him, and then shook his head, seemingly still in awe. "I'm sorry, I can't believe you're married to a dude. This is… my mind is blown, truly."

Eddie shrugged, sharing a look with Buck. "Yeah, well. Soul mates and all that, I don't know."

Buck smiled warmly at him. "He moved to LA and hasn't left me alone since he got there," he said to Sam, laughing when Eddie slapped at him playfully.

"We should catch up," Sam said. "I could make some calls, get the gang back together? Joey and Nate are in town at the moment. Do you guys have a spare night?"

"We're only here for four days," Eddie said. "Maybe the day after Christmas? We could meet up for lunch or something?"

"Yeah, I'll organise it – I know they'd love to see you."

Eddie and Sam swapped details and set up tentative arrangements. He checked the time before tucking his phone back into his pocket, and then said, "We better get going – we've got some sights to see this afternoon. Buck's really keen on the Wells Fargo building for some reason."

"It's the tallest building in El Paso," Buck agreed. "It's pretty thrilling."

"Not anymore, dude. They've built a taller one, but it's not open yet."

"Oh, what?" Buck complained, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Seriously?"

Sam laughed at him good-naturedly. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

"What a disappointment. They've been building this new tower for years! What's the hold up?"

Sam snorted with laughter. "That's what we keep saying," he said to Buck, who huffed in agreement. "Wow, seriously… mind blown, Eddie. Congratulations. I'll set everything up and see you in a couple of days."

"Sounds good," Eddie agreed, and they parted with a wave.

Once they were alone, he turned to Buck, who looked positively delighted. "Don't."

"What?"

"Don't ask for embarrassing stories."

"Aw," Buck complained, sliding an arm around Eddie's waist. "Okay."

"It's only because I can't get you back."

"I'll take you to Philly and you can meet my high school friends," Buck replied, raising his eyebrows at him. "Sound good?"

"Somehow, I don't think you'll come through on that promise."

"You'll just have to wait and see."

~

The afternoon was spent in the car, travelling from one famous El Paso sight to another and checking off things from Buck's list – the Plaza Theatre, where Buck made them get out of the car and go inside so he could see it for himself. Thankfully, the building was open in preparation for a show that evening, and they were able to peek down into the theatre itself. Eddie took a picture of Buck and Christopher outside with the sign, trying not to roll his eyes and dampen their fun.

Buck's eagerness to explore the city helped Eddie to see it in a new light – sure, it was the place he'd grown up, but it was all new to Buck, who'd been researching endlessly in preparation for their visit. They swung into the Museum of Art for an hour, long enough for Buck to decide once again that art museums weren’t his thing, before heading over to the Magoffin Home.

Eddie had been there a couple of times when he was a kid, and so he trailed after Buck and Christopher during the guided tour, trying not to yawn. Buck was snapping pictures, ever the tourist, and Eddie could only gaze at him fondly and remember again how lucky he was that this gigantic dork had fallen in love with him.

They finished up at Eddie's favourite Mexican restaurant, after some protests from Buck about wanting Whataburger. Eddie promised him that he'd enjoy the food, and they settled into a booth at the back, hooking their ankles under the table. Christopher's eyes lit up when a bowl of corn chips, some salsa and a giant glass of Coke were set in front of him, and Eddie groaned. "You're going to be up all night," he said to Christopher, who gave him a giant grin.

Buck reached across to snag a chip and then settled in beside Eddie again, his arm around his shoulders, running his fingers up and down his arm idly. Eddie leaned against him, letting out a contented sigh. "This is good," Buck said to him. "I love it when it's just us."

"Me too," Christopher agreed through a mouthful of food.

Eddie nodded. "Me three," he agreed. "I know they're a lot."

"They're fine. Don't worry about them," Buck reassured him. "Honestly, I don't mind your parents. They're a bit overbearing but they're okay."

"You're too nice," Eddie murmured.

"No, I just… really love you and want you guys to have a nice Christmas with your family." Buck rested his chin on Eddie's shoulder, smiling at him sweetly.

Eddie tilted his neck, so their heads were touching and murmured, "You're still too nice."

Buck nuzzled him. "Nah. Tell me about that guy though, Sam? What's his deal?"

Eddie shrugged. "We became friends freshmen year, and played a lot of the same sports," he replied, reaching across to steal a corn chip. "Just a buddy, really – we weren't best friends? But we shared the same group of friends. I haven't really kept in touch with anyone since I moved to LA… and I mean, before that as well, when I was in the army? I dropped off the face of the earth. Got married young, had Christopher… you know. Grew up a little quicker than the rest of them."

"Right."

"So… I don't really know what any of them will be like, or…"

"I'm not worried," Buck said confidently. "It'll be fine. They're your friends."

"Yeah, but… I don't remember any of them being particularly open-minded."

"High school was a long time ago, Eds. People change." Buck kissed his cheek reassuringly. "It'll be fine."

Eddie nodded. "I’m just nervous."

"Hey, if it sucks, we'll bail." Buck looked up as their food arrived, moving over to give Eddie some space so they could eat.

Eddie couldn't help but notice the size of the burrito on the plate in front of Christopher, and leaned over to examine it. "Buddy, that's a lot," he said.

"I know," Christopher replied gleefully, as he unwrapped it eagerly.

"Like father, like son," Buck said, tapping Eddie's plate pointedly. "Big appetites."

~~

The next day took them on a tour of Ramon's construction business, and to a new housing development on the outskirts of town. Buck followed Eddie around, listening to Ramon's running commentary about the housing market in El Paso as compared to Los Angeles, and the style of houses that were being built in both cities, and how he'd looked into the different suburbs around Los Angeles and considered they should've bought elsewhere… he droned on and on, and Buck zoned out halfway through, wondering if they had enough time in the day to visit the zoo.

Eddie was mostly silent, though he kept sneaking frustrated glances at Buck, who'd smile and shrug at him apologetically. They had lunch with Ramon at a food truck near his office before making their escape, and Eddie breathed a sigh of relief as they climbed into the truck.

"Your dad is pretty intense about his job," Buck commented.

"You see why I didn't want to work for him, right?"

"Yeah, and it's not really your kind of thing. You prefer helping people," Buck replied, "and that's just… building houses."

Eddie nodded thoughtfully, backing out of the parking space. "It's a lack of passion," he said. "My dad loves what he does. He loves making money – and I just wasn't that interested in it, but I didn't know what I wanted to do until I was older… which was a problem."

"Not everyone has it figured out when they're eighteen," Buck replied, reaching out to rest his hand on Eddie's thigh. "I didn't."

Eddie grinned at him. "Yeah, but at least you got to have a wild youth."

"I like to think that you're making up for lost time now that you're with me."

"Oh, is that what our relationship is, baby?"

Buck smirked. "You know it."

"Then what do you say we blow off this sightseeing trip and go back to the house and spend some quality time together before we pick up Christopher?" Eddie suggested wickedly.

"You know you've read my mind," Buck replied loftily, sliding his hand up Eddie's thigh. "I think I can make things worth your while. Hey – I do want to get a cowboy hat and stuff while we're here."

"You can get that shit in LA," Eddie replied dismissively.

Buck gave him a meaningful look. "I want to get it here, to wear for you."

"You know you're going to kill me, right? You're actually going to be the death of me one day. I'm going to walk into the house and you're going to be wearing a crop top and chaps with nothing underneath—"

"Is that what you want?" Buck asked sweetly.

Eddie shook his head, biting his lip. Yes, he did want that – of course he wanted that, but Buck was deliberately trying to rile him up and he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. "No."

They were stopped at a light, so Buck leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Liar."

"Shut up."

"You could dress up for me sometimes as well."

"I gave you a striptease."

"Yeah, one." Buck slid his hand between Eddie's thighs, cupping his groin. "I want more."

Eddie's breath caught in his throat. "God, you're hot."

"I know, which is why I want those chaps."

"We can't really take Christopher to one of those cowboy places and explain why we're buying you all that stuff, so do you want to go now?" Eddie asked him. "It's Christmas Eve – we probably won't get another chance."

Buck nodded. "Okay, let's do it."

"So maybe stop rubbing my dick, all right?"

Buck reluctantly extracted his hand, heaving a sigh. "Fine."

Eddie shot him an amused look. "Tell me where to go – there was a place downtown, but I'm not sure if it's still open."

Buck did some googling, found the shop Eddie was thinking of, and ten minutes later they walked through the sliding glass doors into cowboy heaven. Buck's eyes lit up, travelling over the chaps – some in leather, some in suede – and down to the boots, spurs, belts, jackets – anything and everything. Eddie winced, grabbed Buck by the elbow and hissed, "Don't go overboard."

"I won't," Buck retorted, lingering at the boots. "But…"

"No."

"God, you're bossy." Buck leaned in close and murmured, "And I love it."

"I know you do. Pick something out so we can go home."

~

They walked out with a pair of chaps, a belt and a hat, and Buck was whistling a happy tune, sliding his free hand into Eddie's as they walked back to the car. Eddie was fishing the keys out of his pocket when he heard someone gasp from behind him, and then say, "Eddie, is that you?"

"Fuck," he muttered, desperate to get home, but plastered a smile on his face and turned around. _Fuck._

There in front of them was Maria Hernandez, his high school girlfriend – the only serious one before Shannon. He and Maria had dated for almost their whole senior year, and split up about a month before graduation. She'd gone to college in Houston, and he'd stayed in El Paso, and they'd lost touch over the years. She'd always been pretty, and that was still the case with her dark eyes, full red lips and curly black hair. She wore a bright blue dress and a white cardigan, and she had a little girl in her arms, clinging to her tightly.

"Eddie Diaz," she said, amazed, shaking her head. "I thought that was you. I saw you leave that shop and I thought, I'd know that butt anywhere."

Beside him, Buck snorted with laughter. "That makes two of us."

Eddie stifled a groan, shooting Buck a warning look, and said, "Maria, hey. How are you? Who's this?"

"Oh this is my niece," she replied with a laugh. "We're just getting some ice cream. More importantly, who's this?" she asked, tilting her head towards Buck.

"This is my husband," Eddie replied, a little nervously. "Evan Buckley – Buck, everyone calls him Buck."

"Buckley-Diaz," Buck corrected, nudging Eddie with his elbow. "He's still getting used to the hyphenation."

"Wow," she said, stunned. "Wow. You're… into men?"

Eddie nodded, slipping his hand into Buck's. "Yeah, I'm gay."

"When did this happen? I had no idea," she said wonderingly, hitching the little girl up on her hip. "You hid that well."

"Um, I fell in love with Buck and realised it," Eddie replied awkwardly. "We've been pretty much inseparable since the day we met."

Maria regarded Buck again, an amazed expression on her face. "Wow. Okay. You're the one who locked down Eddie Diaz. I heard about Shannon leaving, but I didn't know you'd divorced. I even saw your mother a few months ago and she didn't mention it. I asked her about you and everything."

"Oh, well, that's Mom," Eddie said, trying to sound nonchalant. "She's still coming to terms with it."

"Yeah, I bet because like… you were like, the family superstar, right? War hero and everything?"

Eddie glanced at Buck uncomfortably and said, "I never saw it that way."

"Yeah, but your Mom does." Maria gave Buck a long look. "Wow, you're super handsome. God you two make a good looking couple."

"Thank you," Buck said with an easy smile.

"I like you," she said with a laugh.

"I like him too," Eddie cut in, embarrassed. "Okay - great to see you though, but we've got to go pick up our son."

"Oh, right. How is Shannon, anyway?"

Eddie paused, shifting uncomfortably. "Um, she died. Two years ago."

Maria looked horrified. "Oh god. I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean – I didn't know, I never… I never knew her well and I only heard the vaguest things about you, so… I just assumed you guys divorced. Wow, I'm really sorry about that."

"It's okay," he replied. "You didn't know. She wasn't from here anyway."

"No." Maria lifted the little girl up again and said, "So how long are you in town for? I'd love to catch up properly."

Eddie was about to lie, but Buck cut him off. "We've got a catch-up thing with Eddie's friend Sam on Sunday," he said. "I think he was getting some people together?"

"Oh, I'll hit him up," Maria replied with a grin. "Great. I'll see you guys on Sunday."

"Great," Buck replied, sliding his arm around Eddie's shoulders. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Buck." Maria gave them an appreciative look, and let out a low whistle. "Wow. God. Gay, huh? That's a shame."

"Not for me," Buck replied easily.

"See you Sunday," Eddie said, to try to end the conversation, and pulled Buck away from her.

As they walked down the street to the car, Buck said mildly, "She's still got it for you."

"She doesn't."

"One hundred percent, she does." He turned to look, and then waved, and Eddie tried not to cringe. "She's watching you walk away, my love. That girl wants you back."

"Well, I'm pretty fucking taken, aren't I?" Eddie retorted, unlocking the car. "Can we just go home?"

Buck shot him a concerned look over the roof of the car, and once they were inside and the heater was on, he said, "I'm a little confused."

Eddie began to reverse out of their parking space. "What about?"

"You're not yourself when you're around people you used to be friends with. What's going on?"

He sighed. "I just haven't seen any of them in a really long time, and they're going to ask me a ton of questions about myself and I hate it," he replied. "You know I hate being the centre of attention."

"I'll distract them," Buck offered.

"You don't know what you're getting into. All these people still live in El Paso; they all know each other, and they all hang out. They all went to school together…" he trailed off. "They remember a version of me that doesn't exist anymore. Are you the same person you were when you were in school?"

Buck was silent for a moment, and then reached out to rest his hand on Eddie's thigh again. "I think my personality is still fundamentally the same," he said, "but I've got more life experience now. I've always been a happy guy. Outwardly, I mean. What did she mean when she said you were a superstar?"

"You saw the sport pictures. They put the trophies away, thank god."

"You were a big deal in high school."

Eddie shrugged. "Kinda."

"A pretty popular dude," Buck guessed.

"Still am."

"Well, it goes without saying." Buck was silent for a moment, and then said, "Hey… I know this has been awkward for you, and uncomfortable. I know you're okay with us showing affection in LA, and I was fully prepared for you to like, not want to hold hands or anything in public. Like, I was okay with that."

Eddie glanced at him worriedly. "Am I… have I done something wrong?"

"No, what I'm saying is… I expected you to want us to be a bit more low-key," he explained. "But you've just been yourself, and I know it probably hasn't been easy to be around people who remember a previous version of you, and in a town which probably isn't as out and proud as LA is. I mean, you just straight out told her that you're gay, and I don't think I've ever seen you take ownership of it like that before."

"Well, I married you, so…"

"Yeah, but you've always had a little harder time putting a label on yourself," Buck replied, patting his leg. "And by not wanting to hide, you've made me feel a lot better as well."

They pulled up to a stop light, and Eddie turned to him and said, "I don't want to hide anymore. It's not fair to you. We're married, and I have nothing to be ashamed about or want to hide from, right?"

Buck shook his head. "Nope."

"So I'm taking the attitude that if someone has an issue, it's their problem, and not ours." Eddie took his hand and squeezed it, running his fingers over the wedding ring on Buck's finger. "You're my husband. I love you. I made the mistake of wanting us to hide away once, and I won't do it again."

"You were just taking time to adjust; I understood that."

"Yeah, but it wasn't right." Eddie lifted Buck's hand to his lips and kissed his fingers. "It's easier to be here with you by my side, because I know we're rock solid. You're on my team."

"I've got your back," Buck finished for him with a grin.

"Right, and I have yours." Eddie kissed his hand again, and then turned to face the road as the traffic began to move.

Buck's hand returned to his thigh, and he said softly, "You know, I get why she would want you back."

"Oh, you're not jealous?" he teased.

"Nope, because you asked me to marry you, and you got up in front of people and said beautiful things to me, and you're wearing a wedding ring that I picked out… you're stuck with me, Diaz. She can fantasise all she wants, but you're mine, and I'm yours, baby."

Eddie flashed him a relieved smile. "Yeah, you are. Best decision I ever made."

"You know it." Buck squeezed his leg and then said, "Is she the one you lost your virginity to?"

Eddie sighed. "Yes."

Buck grinned. "Well, I guess I'll have to prove my worth to you this afternoon."

"Oh, do you think I rocked her world the first time?" Eddie asked him, ignoring the hand creeping further up his leg. "Is that what you think?"

"You certainly rocked mine."

"Yeah, well, that was after a decade of experience."

"I don't know, you were pretty nervous and excited. You still are sometimes," Buck teased him. "You want me to put on my new chaps for you?"

"No, I want you to save those until we're back in LA and I least expect it." Eddie arched an eyebrow at him, smirking. "I want the surprise of my life."

"Oh, you're so fucking on."

~~

Buck had Eddie up against the wall almost as soon as they were in the house, crushing their lips together in an urgent kiss. The walls were a little thin in their Airbnb, and instead of Christopher being down the hall he was right next door. That meant nothing more than kissing and silent blow jobs, but with the house empty for the next few hours, they could really go to town on each other.

Somehow Buck ended up on his hands and knees, watching Eddie pound him from behind in the conveniently placed mirror right in front of the bed. "Jesus," he panted, gripping the sheets. "We should get a mirror for home."

"Oh, you like to watch?" Eddie asked breathlessly, bending over to lick a stripe up his back.

Buck managed a laugh, which turned into a groan as Eddie shifted the angle of his thrust, driving into him even deeper. "Jesus fucking Christ."

"Too much?" Eddie slowed down, leaning over him again.

Buck shook his head, grinning. "No, but god do I love watching you. We gotta get a mirror."

"Oh god, Buck, people are gonna know what it's there for—"

"Who the hell is coming into our room anyway? Christopher's not going to know."

Eddie withdrew, breathing heavily, rolling Buck over onto his back and sliding on top of him so they could kiss. "One day when he's older," he murmured when they parted, "he'll think back and wonder why his parents had a mirror in their bedroom aimed directly at their bed and put two and two together."

"I'm pretty sure he'll understand what sex is when he's older," Buck replied, shifting beneath him, sighing as Eddie slowly slid back inside. "Fuck, that's good. God, I missed this."

"It's only been a week," Eddie mumbled, and proceeded to suck a hickey into the curve of his neck. He lifted his head to admire his handiwork and said, "Wear a sweater tomorrow so no one sees."

"Oh, that'd be right, you're giving your mother another reason not to include me on the wall of wedding photos or – oh, fuck, Eddie!"

Eddie silenced him with a kiss, twisting his pierced nipple with one hand and grinding into him slowly, just the way Buck liked it. Buck gasped and shuddered beneath him, gripping his hips with both hands hard enough to leave bruises.

"Come," Eddie said against his lips, reaching between them to stroke Buck's cock. "Come for me, baby."

God, he was so close to the edge, but wanted to hold out just a little longer – maybe enough to throw Eddie right off his game. With that in mind he flipped the script, rolled Eddie over onto his back and sat up, tipping his head back.

"Oh Jesus," Eddie groaned, staring up at him wildly. "God, you're so fucking hot."

"I know," Buck replied, taking his time to really fuck himself on Eddie's cock. "You love this," he said to Eddie, who nodded breathlessly. "And you know why I'm not threatened? Because I know there's nobody you look at but me."

"No," Eddie agreed, throwing his head back against the bed. "No, I only want you."

"So she can flirt or whatever, she can point out how great your ass looks – and it looks fucking amazing," Buck said, planting one hand on Eddie's chest while he worked himself up and down, "but you're mine, baby. All mine. I'm the luckiest man on the planet."

"No, I am," Eddie objected, breathing heavily, trying to control himself.

"I feel like we had this argument before and I won it—"

Eddie sat up, crushing their lips together again, reaching between Buck's legs to put pressure on his prostate. Buck squeaked, pleasure shooting from his groin all through his body in waves, and when Eddie took his cock in his hand and began to pump it, he couldn't hold on any longer.

Eddie jacked him until there was nothing left, and broke the kiss long enough to lick his fingers with a smirk. Buck hugged him and buried his face against his neck, holding on as Eddie continued for a few seconds longer before following with a low moan, his lips sliding against Buck's neck.

"I love you," Eddie breathed in his ear, one hand slipping down his back. "I love you so much."

Buck smiled against his neck. "I love you."

They traded kisses, pausing long enough to clean up before flopping onto the bed together. Buck found Eddie's lips in a lazy kiss, briefly glancing at the time on his phone before focusing on his husband, who was spent and sated beneath him.

"You're not threatened," Eddie murmured when they parted.

"No, it's flattering. Everyone wants you and they can't have you, because you're mine."

"I think you'll find that she'd take either one of us, you know. She was looking at you as much as me."

Buck chuckled. "I guess I've still got it."

"You know you've still got it; all those girls from the high school trip to the station last week couldn't stop staring at you and giggling," Eddie said, gazing up at Buck affectionately. "And you love the attention."

"You know why? Because I could see you watching, and I love it when you're looking at me." Buck kissed him again, and then shifted so he was in his comfortable nook at Eddie's side, his head resting on his shoulder.

Eddie ran his fingers up and down Buck's back and suddenly changed the subject. "You know Mom's probably doing it on purpose. The photo and the not mentioning you."

"I don't care."

"I do. She's going to use you tomorrow for your cooking skills—"

"Eddie, I don't care. It's Christmas; we're not going to get into a fight with your parents. It's not worth it."

Eddie was silent for a moment, and then mumbled, "I think it is."

"Yeah, but you love a fight."

"No, I just want people to understand that you're my husband now, and you deserve respect. So if you're too nice to say something, I won't be. They're not using you tomorrow, baby – we're guests. Don't let my mother make you feel guilty for not helping out."

Buck lifted his head. "What if I want to help out?" he asked reasonably.

"That's fine, but I just… don't want my parents to think we fit into some kind of warped gender roles where you're my wife or something and I don't help you—"

Buck propped himself up on his elbow and said, "Eds, why are you so worried about what people think of us? I don't care what anybody thinks of us. I like to cook. I'm happy to help in the kitchen. Your Abuela has given me most of her recipes anyway. And if we're talking those stereotypically feminine duties around the house, well, I'm just going to point out that you clean more than any person I've ever met, ever, and terrifyingly you even enjoy _ironing_ —"

"It just puts me into like a zen state where all I see are wrinkles and I need to iron them out," Eddie mumbled.

"You can also sew and I don't do that," Buck pointed out. "I take care of all Max's needs, but we both do the yard… honestly, what are you worried about? We both put equal work into this marriage."

"I'm genuinely worried that some of these people we're seeing might be homophobic and make jokes about us," Eddie admitted, and screwed his face up. "I was hoping not to run into anyone while I was here."

Buck nodded thoughtfully, and then said, "But like I said, you've been really honest and upfront. You haven't been trying to hide at all."

"I don't want to hide," Eddie replied. "I love being married to you. I'm proud to be your husband. But I also don't want to put us in an uncomfortable situation. The people are different here."

"Everyone's been nice so far." Buck contemplated him and then said, "Babe, you haven't lived here in a while and when you were here, you were straight – well, in denial."

Eddie made a face at him.

"Everything I've read – this town is LGBT friendly. There's a bunch of gay bars. We could go to one before we pick up Christopher if you want," he suggested. "There's a whole pride square thing in the city – do you want to go? Just the two of us? Maybe Soph could take Christopher for another couple of hours."

"Um, I don't know."

"You know there's nothing to be ashamed of, and if these old friends of yours start being dicks, we'll just leave," Buck said with a shrug. "You and I have nothing to prove to anyone. And honestly, I don't think they're inviting us out so they can be mean to you. You grew up and figured out what you wanted – there's nothing wrong that."

Eddie nodded, though he still looked troubled. Buck gave him a reassuring kiss, and settled in beside him again. They were both silent for a few minutes, until Eddie said, "I don't feel like I fit."

Buck splayed his hand on his chest and looked up at him. "With what?"

"Being… gay. I feel like… I'm not part of anything. That… my experience is different."

"It is different," Buck pointed out. "But that's okay – everyone is different."

Eddie nodded, his eyes on the ceiling. "I just feel like… I see a lot of rainbows and stuff and I don't really understand what any of it means. Like… it's a community that we're technically a part of but not really, because… we're different."

"Not everyone shows pride in the same way," Buck replied. "We don't have to go marching in the parade if you don't want to. Pride is you and me, out in public, holding hands. Being unafraid. That's all it is, my love. You don't have to wear rainbows and dance on a float to be proud of who you are. And you should be."

"Are you?" Eddie asked him. "You've been to the marches."

"Yeah, but you know I love a party," Buck teased, and Eddie broke into a grin. "And you also know my sexuality doesn't bother me or define me. It's just… a part of me. I'm bisexual and I'm married to a man. That's it. There's nothing more to it. Do you know Adriana asked me once if I prefer men or women?"

Eddie groaned, pressing a hand to his head. "She didn't."

"Yeah, at our bachelor party. She was tequila-drunk and very loose."

"What'd you say?"

"I said that it wasn't like that," he replied with a chuckle. "That I like men and women equally, but I fell in love with you. So really, I only like you. And I really, really like you."

"I know, you made that pretty clear today."

"You drive me fucking wild," Buck whispered in his ear. "So it's a good thing I married you."

"Yeah, you had to lock this down," Eddie boasted, laughing when Buck shoved him playfully. "Well, it's the truth!"

"Well, apparently in El Paso you're in hot demand," Buck replied, pulling him closer. "Good thing I snapped you up when I did."

~~

They left the Airbnb at around five, and then drove to Sophia's to collect Christopher. They were meant to be meeting the rest of the family at Ramon and Helena's for dinner, but Eddie wanted to take them to Scenic Drive to put a lock on the love fence with their initials on it, and to view the El Paso and Juarez skylines as the sun set over the cities.

"Are you sure you don't want to have Soph bring Christopher to your parents' house, and we go to Pride Square?" Buck asked him as they pulled out of the driveway.

"Do you want to go to Pride Square?" Eddie asked curiously.

"Well, yeah, but… we can always go on Sunday to have a look before we meet your friends."

"They're not my friends anymore. And um… no, let's get Chris, all right? He'll be missing us. He loves his cousins, but they can be a lot."

"Okay," Buck agreed, taking Eddie's free hand. "Sounds good."

"Besides, I have somewhere in mind to take you both, and we need to get there before the sun goes down." Eddie flashed him a grin.

"Oh, you've got tricks now, do you?" Buck teased.

"You know it."

Sophia's house was only a five-minute drive from their Airbnb, and when they arrived, they walked right into the middle of an argument between Sophia and her husband, Martin.

Buck and Eddie stopped on the porch, listening.

"You have to help me sometimes," Sophia said desperately. "You can't just leave me here all by myself—"

"I have to work, Soph! Someone in this family has to work!"

"I told you that I wanted to be a wedding planner; I told you that I could do it! That we could move to LA and I could start contributing."

"We've been over this a thousand times. We're not moving to LA so you can follow some pipe dream."

"It's not a pipe dream. I had interviews here and they said I had potential, but you wouldn't let me take the job I was offered! I could've trained here, and then we could've moved to LA—"

"We're not moving to Los Angeles under any circumstances, do you understand me? No way do I want to have to spend more time with your brother and his husband," he practically spat. "It was bad enough that I was forced to go to the wedding."

Eddie stiffened and made a move as if to intervene, but Buck wrapped a hand around his wrist and held him back, shaking his head.

"I don't want to live here anymore!" Sophia practically shrieked. "I hate it here!"

"Well, you're going to have to learn to love it, because this is where we live. We're not moving."

"But I could have a job—"

"And that job would take you away from _us._ I don't think I'm asking a lot of you. We live comfortable lives, and all I want is a woman to keep a tidy house, take care of the children, and look good on my arm at functions. That's all you need to do, Sophia. I don't understand why this is so hard for you."

"I just… I found something that I'm really good at," she begged. "I could contribute, and still be here for the kids and—"

"The answer is no."

Eddie heard Sophia let out a sob, and tried to step forward again, but Buck held him back insistently. When Eddie gave him a questioning look, Buck just shook his head and mouthed, 'It'll escalate.' He nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Come on," Martin said. "Don't cry. You know I’m right."

"You're being a jerk, and you were supposed to be watching the kids," she said in a voice full of anguish. "And now I have to tell Eddie that Christopher is hurt."

Eddie and Buck shared a concerned look, and, unable to take it anymore, he rapped on the door. "Soph?" he called, deciding to pretend they'd just arrived.

"Eddie!" she exclaimed, appearing in the hallway. "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah, is everything okay?" he asked, pulling open the screen door.

She nodded, wiping her eyes and smoothing her hair. "Guys, I'm so sorry – Christopher had a bit of a fall on the on the patio and he's skinned his knees."

"That's okay, accidents happen," Buck said as he followed Eddie into the house.

Martin stepped out from the kitchen, his arms folded across his chest. Eddie gave him a cold look. "Where's Chris?" he asked Sophia, turning his back on his brother-in-law.

"He's in watching TV with the kids. I cleaned his knees and put band-aids on them." She was trying to control her emotions, right on the verge of tears. "I'm so, so sorry, Eddie."

"It's not your fault; these things happen," Eddie reassured her. "You just take your eyes off them for a minute and it's all over."

"Yeah, Soph, maybe if you'd paid more attention, this wouldn't have happened," Martin said, leaning against the doorframe. "I know you've been so distracted running around after Eddie the last few months, but—"

"Shut up," she snapped at him. "Stop it. Stop making me feel guilty for something that's your fault!"

"You're their mother."

"And you're their father! And just because you're the man and you bring home the money, doesn't mean you don't also have parental responsibilities!"

Martin shook his head, wandering away. "Now you're just getting emotional."

Sophia's face was screwed up with anguish. Eddie couldn't take it anymore and snapped at his brother-in-law, "What the actual fuck is your problem? This is your wife. Treat her with some respect."

"Lay off it, Eddie. I don't care what you think," he said dismissively.

"This is my sister, dude—"

"She's my wife," Martin snapped at him. "And she'll do what I tell her to do."

Buck stepped in front of Sophia protectively. Trying to keep the peace, Eddie said, "That's not how a marriage works."

"Oh what the fuck do you know about it?" Martin asked him bluntly. "Your wife ran off and left you and you had to take up with your best friend. Yeah, you're a real expert. Thanks for the advice."

"Martin, that's enough!" Sophia suddenly snapped.

He gave her a furious look, turned on his heel, and stalked out of the kitchen.

Eddie shared a concerned look with Buck and then said to Sophia in a low voice, "Bring the kids to our place. Come with us."

"No," she said firmly, taking deep breaths. "No. I'm fine."

"We can help you," Buck said gently. "Maddie's been through this—"

"No, it's fine. Not before Christmas," she said firmly, though tears were leaking down her cheeks. "Not now."

"Are you sure?" Eddie asked worriedly.

She nodded. "I'm okay. It's fine. He'll apologise. Let me get Christopher for you."

Once they were alone, Eddie let out a trapped breath and said to Buck quietly, "We have to do something. Did Maddie talk to her?"

Buck nodded. "A few times. I'll let her know what's going on."

"This is bad."

Buck was about to respond when the distinctive sound of Christopher's crutches on tiles came from the hallway, and they both closed their mouths. Christopher came into view, and as soon as he laid eyes on Eddie, his lip began to tremble. "Hi Dads."

"Hey buddy," Eddie said, dropping to his knees. "You okay? You had a fall?"

"Yeah." Christopher stopped in front of Eddie, his lips downturned. "My knees hurt."

Sophia began to weep again. "I'm so sorry."

"This is not your fault," Buck said to her reassuringly. "These things happen."

"I only went out for an hour to get some groceries—"

"Soph, nobody here blames you," Eddie cut in, and then smiled at Christopher, who was on the verge of tears as well. "Come on. Let's get you home so we can assess the damage."

~

The plan to watch the sunset at the beauty spot abandoned, Eddie took Christopher home, who asked whether Buck would sit with him in the backseat. Buck folded his long legs up and crammed himself into the back beside Christopher, who pressed his face against Buck's chest and sniffled miserably.

It wasn't until they arrived home that they heard the full story – the kids had been roughhousing in the backyard, and Christopher had wanted to participate, but had tripped over on the patio. He went down hard, skinned both knees and cut the palm of one of his hands.

Sophia had patched him up, but Eddie sat him down on the couch with Buck at his side and removed the bandages to take a look. "Okay," he said, glancing up at Christopher. "Just some scrapes, but I'll put some Neosporin on and some fresh band-aids, get you all nice and patched up for dinner."

"I don't want to go," Christopher complained. "I hate it."

"It's just dinner with everyone," Buck reassured him. "You'll be right between your dad and me."

"I don't want to go," Christopher said again, turning desperate eyes on Eddie. "I don't want to. Can't we just stay here?"

Eddie and Buck exchanged a quick look, and then Eddie said, "Why don't you want to go?"

Christopher screwed his face up, eyes trained on the bottle of Neosporin in Eddie's hand. "Do you have to put that stuff on?"

"Yes, bud. It'll only hurt for a second." He glanced at Buck again, who tapped Christopher on the shoulder.

"Do you want to see what your dad bought me today?"

Christopher's eyes lit up. "Yes."

"Do you promise you won't laugh?" Buck asked him seriously.

He paused, and then said, "No."

"Fair call." Buck stood and went to retrieve the bag on the dining table, pulling out the hat box. While Christopher was distracted, Eddie applied the Neosporin to his scrapes, glancing at Buck as he placed the black cowboy hat atop his head, raising his eyebrows at Christopher, who was giggling hysterically. "You like it, right?"

"You look like a real cowboy."

"Yes I do," Buck agreed loftily. "Your dad doesn't think it looks good."

"It looks awesome," Christopher said to Buck. "Can I wear it?"

"You think I bought this nice hat and wasn't going to let you wear it? C'mon, kiddo," Buck said, plopping down beside him on the couch and placing the too-large hat atop his head. Christopher's head disappeared into it, and Eddie snorted with laughter, sitting back on his haunches and fumbling for his phone.

"This is too good," he said, snapping a few pictures.

"I like it," Christopher said from beneath the hat.

"One day it'll fit you," Buck promised, lifting it off his head and passing it to Eddie, who put it on as well. "See? Your dad was made to wear them."

Eddie winked at him, smirking, and then raised his eyebrows at Christopher. "All done, kiddo. Let me see your hand." Christopher held out his hand obediently, and Eddie cleaned the shallow scrapes. "Not too bad," Eddie murmured, and kissed his fingers. "You're okay. So tell me why you don't want to go tonight."

Christopher reached out to touch the hat, and Eddie took it off, passing it back to him. Christopher turned it around in his hands and murmured, "I just hate that everyone is mad all the time. I hate being there. I just want to be here where it's happy."

"You saw Aunty Soph and Uncle Marty fighting," Eddie guessed, and Christopher nodded, tears filling his eyes. "I'm sorry, buddy."

"He was yelling at her and she was crying. I said it was my fault and then he yelled at me for being clumsy."

Eddie bit back his instant anger and said, "It's not your fault. These things happen. People fall over. Ask Buck, he falls over all the time."

"I do," Buck agreed ruefully. "In front of people. A lot."

"At work," Eddie said to Christopher, who laughed. "Listen – if you don't want to go, that's okay. We're seeing everyone tomorrow for Christmas, so we'll just call and say that we're not going to be able to make it, and we're sorry, but we'll see everyone tomorrow."

"And instead, we could get burgers for dinner," Buck suggested wickedly. "From Whataburger."

Christopher wiped his eyes. "Aren't they going to be mad if you say you can't come?"

Eddie nodded. "They probably will be, but that's okay. Buck and I will handle it."

"Besides, we have a tradition," Buck said to Christopher, who blinked up at him. "We always open one present on Christmas Eve and watch a Christmas movie. So how about we have some dinner, make the house all nice and cosy, pick out our presents, and then three of us will settle in to watch whatever you want."

"Okay. Good plan." Eddie rose to his feet, packing away his medical kit. "You guys look up the menu and tell me what you want, and I'll go get it."

~

He called his mother from the car, who was angry and confused. "What do you mean, you're not coming?"

"No. Sorry."

"But… we'd like to see you as much as possible before you head home. I'm making tamales."

"I'm sorry, Mom," he replied apologetically. "We're staying in tonight. Just us three."

"Eddie, I'm very disappointed in you," she began, and he braced himself for a lecture. "I don't know what's going on with you three today. Adriana pulled out this afternoon because Caitlin had to be rushed to the dentist with a toothache, and then Sophia pulled out because she's not feeling well, and now you? Eddie, we don't often get to have the whole family together—"

"Mom, just cancel the dinner and we'll see everyone tomorrow," he said, pulling into the parking lot of the Whataburger. "I have to go."

"Well what time are you coming over tomorrow?" she demanded.

"Not until eleven; I told you that. We're opening presents first."

"You could bring them to our house and open them with us," she suggested brightly. "Be here at 8am and I'll cook breakfast."

"Mom—"

"No, I have to go."

"Mom!"

"See you tomorrow at 8am," she said, and hung up on him.

Eddie sighed, shaking his head. He parked the car, grabbed his phone and sent her a text – _We'll be there at eleven._

~

Christmas Eve was spent eating burgers – Buck decided that he preferred In-N-Out – and opening one present each before watching _The Grinch_ , which was Christopher's choice. Christopher cuddled up between them, his head on Eddie's shoulder, and Eddie met Buck's eyes and thought, _he's growing up too fast, and one day, this will all be over._

Fearing that, he hugged Christopher a little more tightly, knowing that his teenage years were just around the corner. Buck watched him, a soft smile playing on his lips, and draped his arm around both of them, pulling them in close.

"Next year we'll be in our new house," Christopher said suddenly.

"Yep," he agreed, brushing his fingers through his hair. "We'll have Christmas at home. Maybe we can finally have Christmas with Maddie, Chim and Charlotte."

"And Max."

"Oh, I had to show you something," Eddie said, retrieving his phone from his pocket and ignoring the ten angry messages from his mother about what time they should arrive. "Carla sent me a video of him."

Christopher's eyes lit up as Max waltzed across the screen in a jaunty Santa suit, his fluffy tail sticking out of a hole at the back. Carla even had him in a Santa hat, and Christopher giggled as Max lazily swiped it off his head with one paw, positively glowering at the camera.

"This time in two days he'll be back in your arms," Eddie said to Christopher, resting his chin on his head. "I know this hasn't been fun for you, but just stick it out for me a little while longer."

"I just don't know why everyone is so angry all the time. And why they won't just leave me alone. I'm not a baby."

"No, you're not," Eddie said, though sometimes he wanted to wrap him up in cotton wool and protect him forever. "You're in double digits now, kiddo."

Christopher nodded with satisfaction. "I can't wait to go home."

Buck gave Eddie a sad look, brushing his fingers against his earlobe. Eddie leaned into his touch and said, "I know your grandparents are tough sometimes, but they don't get to see you very often and they overcompensate. Just hang in there for me, buddy."

"Okay," Christopher agreed.

"Yeah, so just cool it with the attitude, bud," Buck teased him, and Christopher let out a peal of laughter. "This kind of punk behaviour has got to stop, all right? Your dad and I raised you better than this."

As Christopher laughed at him and let out a cackle when Buck tickled him, it was suddenly _on_ , the two of them wrestling and shoving Eddie further down on the couch. And then all three of them were play-fighting, laughing hysterically as they somehow ended up on the floor, Christopher and Eddie trying to fight off Buck's relentless onslaught of tickles.

Eddie finally managed to take the upper hand, rolling Buck onto his back, and Eddie pinned his hands over his heads while Christopher tickled his ribs until Buck was pleading for them to stop, tears of laughter rolling down his face. "You win! I surrender!"

~~

Buck loved Eddie's propensity for pettiness – on Christmas morning, instead of dealing with his parents, he simply made sure their phones were on 'do not disturb' so they could open their presents and have breakfast in peace. They'd made an agreement to not exchange presents, and to put all their money towards the new house, but Buck still presented Eddie with a wrapped gift box and Eddie passed one over of his own.

Buck's gift, which was really _Eddie's_ gift, was a new bar for his nipple – this one in rainbow titanium, with a metal ball at each end. Eddie's taste was becoming more and more outlandish, and Buck leaned in to kiss him as a thanks. Eddie tilted his head towards the bathroom, and Buck nodded, winking at him.

Eddie's gift was a little different. He loved his DSLR camera so much that it had begun to make appearances around the house – particularly when Christopher goaded him into taking pictures of Max – and so Buck had bought him a novelty gift. His very own Polaroid camera, and a few rolls of film.

Eddie was shaking with laughter when he opened it, and gave Buck an amazed look. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, we'll do a photo wall or something in the new house," Buck suggested, reaching out to ruffle Christopher's hair as he flipped through one of his many new books. "They can't all be of Max though, Eds. Promise."

"He's very photogenic," Eddie murmured, and then leaned in to kiss Buck gratefully. "Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome, honey bunny."

Christopher giggled.

Eddie gave him a mock glare. "Don't."

"I'm just testing it out, seeing how it fits," Buck replied, rising to his feet and waving the box at Eddie. "You want to do this now?"

"Yep. Be right back, Chris," Eddie said, jumping to his feet and following Buck into the bathroom. He cleaned the barbell while Buck opened his shirt, and then Eddie pressed a soft kiss to his nipple before gently removing the silver bar and inserting the new rainbow one in its place. He ran his fingers over it, and smiled up at Buck. "Looks good. Do you like it?"

Buck nodded, kissing him sweetly. "You know I do."

"If you want me to stop buying them—"

"No, don't stop."

Eddie nodded, slipping his hands around Buck's waist. "Because actually your real present is something else."

Buck pulled away, arching his eyebrows. "What?"

"I made you a video," he said, clearly embarrassed. "It's on my computer in a secret folder for you to watch alone. It's password protected."

Buck's jaw dropped. "Can I watch it now?"

"Um… we're about to go spend all day with my family, and this is kind of a sexy video…"

"A sexy video," he clarified, pushing Eddie up against the sink. "How did you do this? When—"

Eddie blushed. "That day you and Chris went to the movies without me? Yeah… I filmed it then, and edited it… and it's yours, when you want to watch it, but I'm not watching it with you."

"Can I watch it now?" he asked again eagerly. "Please?"

"You might… want… to wait until we can…"

"No, I have to see it. What's the password? Can you distract Chris and I'll watch it now? How long does it go for?"

"Baby," Eddie groaned. "We have to go—"

"Your mother's waited all morning, she can wait a little longer. How long is it?"

"Like… nearly ten minutes."

"Ten minutes of you," Buck clarified, and Eddie nodded. "Being sexy for me?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck," he breathed, stomach clenched with want. "Oh my god."

"It's for you when I'm not home," Eddie whispered. "You're meant to get hard when you watch it."

"I'm hard just thinking about it."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have told you, I just… I know the nipple ring is kind of a lame present—"

"No, it's not," Buck objected, admiring it in the mirror. "You know I wouldn't have done this if I didn't want to. It looks good."

Eddie relaxed. "Okay, good," he said, smiling warmly at him. "As long as you like it."

"You know I do." Buck gazed at him thoughtfully, and then asked seriously, "Do you want to watch me while I watch it?" Eddie's eyes lit up. "Yes? Okay. Tonight?"

"Tonight," Eddie agreed, and kissed him again.

When they parted, Buck said, "I love you so much for doing that for me."

"You liked it when I danced," Eddie murmured, cheeks flaming.

"You know you drive me absolutely fucking wild," Buck said in a low voice. "Dancing was just the icing on the cake."

"This is the cherry, then."

"No, you're the cherry," Buck corrected, and kissed him again. "I love you. Merry Christmas, honey bunny."

Eddie groaned. "Can you please think of something better?"

"No, because this drives you nuts."

~


	2. Chapter 2

To say that Eddie's mother was none too thrilled about her son laying down the law and telling her when he'd be arriving to her Christmas Day affair was understating it. She kept the rage simmering just below the surface, plastered a fake smile on her face and ushered Christopher away from them and over to the tree, sitting down with him to open his presents.

Adriana, her husband Grant and their two children were already there, and she immediately dragged Buck into the kitchen and put him to work. "I know Eddie's going to get all _Eddie_ about us using you for your cooking skills, but I don't care," she said. "And I also know you made a cheesecake for us for dessert."

"I did," Buck said, taking the container out of his bag. "Room in the fridge?"

"Bottom shelf." Adriana was chopping potatoes, dressed in a red Christmas sweater and white pants. "So how come you two ditched last night?"

Buck checked to make sure they were alone and said, "After what happened at Sophia's, Christopher didn't want to go."

Adriana set down her knife, turning to face him. "What happened at Sophia's?"

"She didn't tell you? Marty was supposed to be watching the kids while she was out, but for some reason he left them to their own devices and Christopher fell over and skinned his knees," he replied. "I'm surprised you can't hear your mother cooing over him."

Adriana paused to listen, rolling her eyes, and then said, "Hey… Sophia won't talk to me, at all. What's going on?"

Buck closed the fridge, wondering how much he should say. "Uh… I—"

"Sorry we're late!" Sophia's voice rang through the house, and the sound of footsteps stampeding into the living room followed. "Merry Christmas! Hi everyone!"

"We'll talk later," Adriana said to Buck, and then pointed at the oven. "Would you baste the turkey for me, please?"

"Sure thing."

"Oh, but I got you a present, hang on…" Adriana turned to rummage through a bag on the counter, and produced a folded blue apron. "Here you go, hot stuff."

Buck held it up. " _My husband fights fires_ ," he said dryly. "Wow. You know I fight them as well, right?"

"I think we both know that Eddie is the brains of the operation," she teased. "Put it on!"

~

To say that Eddie liked the apron was an understatement – he made Buck pose for at least ten photos, which he promptly added to the 118 group chat. He then made his presence known in the kitchen, popping in every so often to check how things were doing and to steal bits and pieces to share with Christopher.

Buck guessed he was an honorary wife for the day, and he mostly listened as Helena, Adriana and Sophia gossiped about different people. He had no clue who they were talking about, and chopped whatever vegetables he was given, and then sat at the table to make pastry for a pecan pie. Eddie leaned around the corner to check on him again – like clockwork, every half an hour or so – and Buck flashed him a grin.

He'd noticed that Sophia was extra perky, skipping from one conversation topic to the next, bright and bubbly. He caught her eye a few times, but she mostly ignored him, and he tried not to focus on the fact that her make-up seemed a little heavier than usual.

Helena was the interesting one, because she was being overly sweet to him – praising him constantly, as though she couldn't believe that he could make pastry from scratch, and then oohing and aahing as he began to prepare the pie filling. He endured it, because she was Eddie's mother and he was sure she meant well, even if it came off a little condescending.

Finally it was Adriana who said to your mother, "Will you tone it down? He's not a dog; he's a grown man. Stop telling him he's a good boy."

Helena set her knife down and said in a low voice, "Do not start with me today. I mean it."

"You're the one who's treating him – and Christopher – like they're two-year-olds," Adriana retorted, adding a tray of vegetables to the oven. "Did you forget you have five other grandchildren?"

"Adriana, I'm warning you."

"Cut it out," Sophia hissed at them. "We're not doing this today."

Everyone went silent as Grandpa Bill suddenly shuffled into the kitchen. "What are you doing in here, young man?" je asked Buck. "I was hoping to get you on your own for a moment."

"He's making a pie," Helena said to her father.

"He can come and talk to an old man for a few minutes. Come on, Buck."

Buck rose to his feet, wiping his hands on his apron, glancing at Helena apologetically. "I'll be right back."

"Take your time, dear," she said, falsely sweet.

He followed Grandpa Bill out to the back porch, and they took a seat on the bench together. Grandpa Bill regarded his apron with a raised eyebrow and said, "You're quite comfortable in yourself, aren't you, young man?"

Buck laughed. "Well, it could be worse. My husband is a firefighter."

"True." Grandpa Bill nodded slowly, looking out over the sprawling backyard. "I don't speak to Eddie very much – I know he's busy – but… I was surprised to find out that he was marrying a man. Not unhappy," he clarified, "just surprised."

"Yeah, I read the letter you sent him; it was very nice. He takes your opinion seriously," Buck replied.

"He's a good kid. My favourite grandson," he said to Buck with a wink. "My only grandson."

Buck grinned. "Maybe we'll have to come visit you in Florida some time."

"Oh, no. California is much nicer. I spent some of my youth there, down in San Diego, before I met my wife." Grandpa Bill shifted in his seat, regarding Buck seriously. "And you? Where did you grow up?"

"Philadelphia," he replied.

"Ah. And I know you're not very close with your parents."

"No, sir. We don't get along."

"Well, I can't imagine why that would be. You seem like a decent young fellow. I know how much you love my grandson and great-grandson. Eddie seems very happy."

"We're really happy," he agreed. "They're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I want to know how you first met," Grandpa Bill said. "Because nobody here seems to know the story."

Buck laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, it wasn't quite love at first sight," he admitted. "Not for me. Bobby – our captain – hired Eddie and… I was a bit threatened."

"Well, that's understandable."

"Yeah, but we ended up… pulling a live round out of this guy's leg in the back of an ambulance, and… figured out we worked pretty well together," he replied. "And… we've been partners ever since. Best friend I ever had in my life, and I went and fell in love with him."

Grandpa Bill nodded sagely. "Well, honestly, I can understand why. He's a good man. I'm very proud of him, and I was disappointed that I wasn't able to be there for the wedding."

"Well, you can come visit us any time, you know," Buck offered. "We're moving into a bigger house in January."

"Ah, but that would mean running across Isabel, my old nemesis," Grandpa Bill said with a hearty laugh. "And we just don't mix."

"Well, she loves me. I could put a good word in for you."

"No, no." Grandpa Bill considered him, and then said, "I know they're not easy to get along with. My daughter… has certain ideas; she got them from her mother – about how men should act. How they should raise children, be husbands, that kind of thing. This is all new for her - learning to love this new version of her son. Just give her some time."

"It's not me," Buck replied. "Eddie's the one who's frustrated."

"Well, I'll chat to him. Don't you worry." Grandpa Bill smiled at him. "You better get back to your pie."

"Yeah, the crust should be just about done." Buck held out his hand, and Grandpa Bill shook it. "Thanks for the talk."

"You're very welcome."

~

By the time dinner was served, the turkey was carved and everyone was eating, Buck was feeling pretty relaxed. His hope had been for the entire Diaz family to simply make it through a meal without descending into arguing, and so far, so good. Christopher was between him and Eddie at the table, very subdued, picking at the vegetables on his plate unhappily.

Buck leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I will make you a super rich hot chocolate with four marshmallows if you eat your vegetables."

Eddie leaned in on the other side and said, "No, he won't, because that's bribery. What's wrong?"

Christopher shrugged. "It's fine."

"Do you want me to cut your meat for you, Christopher?" Helena asked from across the table. "Did you get some potatoes? I know you don't really like green beans—"

"He's fine, Mom," Adriana snapped. "Leave him be."

Buck held his breath, waiting for an inevitable argument, but Helena shot her eldest daughter a glare and closed her mouth. Crisis averted.

Everyone resumed eating, though the atmosphere in the room was tense. Christopher kept wriggling in his seat, glancing over to where his cousins were sitting at their own little table, as though he'd prefer to be with them. Helena was the one who wanted him at the adults' table, and Christopher had agreed, so that was where he was. Buck heard a peal of laughter from the kids' table, and looked over to find them all whispering and giggling together.

"Do you want to go and sit with your cousins?" Eddie whispered to Christopher, meeting Buck's eyes over his head.

Christopher stabbed a potato with his fork and said quietly, "No."

"And how's the Etsy shop going, Sophia?" Helena asked. "Making many sales?"

Sophia nodded. "It's going really well. I have a few orders to fill after Christmas. People really like the nursery artwork."

"The painting you made for Maddie looks amazing in her nursery," Adriana agreed. "She always has it in the background of her Instagram photos, have you noticed?"

"Yeah, she loves it. I made her a quilt to go with it."

"I hope you charged her for it," Martin said dryly.

Sophia shot him a pointed look. "It was a gift. Maddie's my friend."

"You hardly know the woman," he murmured.

"She's my _friend_ ," Sophia hissed. "Shut up."

"Calm down, Sophia," Helena warned. "We're having a nice meal."

Sophia went bright red, but bit down hard on her lower lip and shook her head, swallowing the anger down. Buck met Adriana's eyes briefly, and then went back to his meal. The turkey was dry, and the mashed potatoes were gluggy. He noticed Christopher pushing his food around on his plate and hardly eating any, so he grabbed another roll from the basket, buttered it, and put some thigh meat and gravy in the middle before handing it to him. Christopher accepted it and took a bite, flashing Buck a pleased smile.

Eddie swiped the meat from Christopher's plate and added it to his own, and then took a piece of corn from the basket in the middle of the table and added it to his plate. Christopher smiled up at him as well, and Eddie ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Give him some vegetables, Edmundo," Helena ordered. "That's too much bread."

"He's fine, Mom," Eddie replied.

"He needs to eat some greens."

"He's fine. Thanks. Dad, could you pass the sweet potatoes?"

Ramon handed them over. "So, had any excitement at work in the last few weeks?" he asked Eddie. "No earthquakes?"

"We did have a small one last week," Eddie replied as he dished some potatoes onto his plate, and then passed the dish to Buck when he gestured for it. "About 4am? It was a four-pointer, so it woke us all up. We were in the bunks at work."

"Ah, you all sleep together, do you?" Helena asked curiously. "Boys and girls separate?"

Buck bit back a grin, but Eddie was the one who actually chuckled and said, "No, it's a co-ed dorm, Mom."

She admonished him with a look. "You know what I mean."

"I do, and no, we all share the one room. We had a snoring competition one night and Hen won, by a long shot."

"A snoring competition," Ramon repeated. "How?"

"You can get an app on your phone that measures your sleep," Buck explained. "So we all downloaded the app and set it up before we went to sleep – and that night we got about five hours uninterrupted, which meant that we actually had decent results. Hen's been to see a specialist about her snoring since then. She never believed us when we told her how bad it was."

"They think she might have sleep apnoea so she's going to one of those clinics. And I asked Karen how she never noticed, and she said that she wears earplugs at night," Eddie added with a laugh. "So she had no idea."

"Hen and Karen are the ones who were at your wedding," Helena clarified. "The lesbians."

Buck glanced at Eddie, who said, "Yes, Mom. The lesbians."

"I'm just… there were a lot of new faces; that's all. No judgement."

"I very much liked Bobby and Athena," Ramon spoke up, and Helena nodded in agreement. "We had a nice lunch together. He seems like a very decent man."

"And she's lovely," Helena added. "And they're a striking couple. I would not like to be on the receiving end of Athena in a bad mood though, that's for sure."

"I have," Buck spoke up. "A few times. It's not fun."

"Yeah, but you can get away with murder," Eddie teased him. "She'll forgive you for anything."

"It wasn't always that way."

"Is that the black lady cop?" Martin asked, in a tone of voice that suggested he was clearly bored with the conversation. "I thought she was a real piece of work."

"Well, maybe if you weren't being so openly rude to everyone at the wedding," Sophia said sarcastically.

"Well, maybe if my wife had been paying more attention to me instead of flitting around trying to control everything, I would've been in a better mood."

Christopher shrank down beside Buck, dropping the last of his bread roll.

"Well, maybe if my husband put in an effort with the people in my life that I care about—"

"Martin, Sophia, please!" Helena exclaimed. "Would you both settle down?"

Martin heaved a sigh. "Fine."

Christopher shook his head suddenly, tugging on Buck's sleeve. Buck leaned in close, and Christopher whispered in his ear, "I want to go."

"Bathroom?" Buck mouthed at him, and he paused before nodding. "Okay. You want me to come with?"

"Yes." Christopher slid off his chair to the floor.

"Everything okay?" Helena asked with concern. "Christopher?"

Buck ignored her, raising his eyebrows at Eddie and tilting his head to the hallway. "Be right back."

"Okay." Eddie looked worried, so Buck leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead before following Christopher down the hallway.

"Eddie, is he all right? Should I go with them?" Helena's voice followed them down the hall.

Buck shook his head, trying to swallow his frustration, and held the door open for Christopher. "You okay?"

"I don't know. Can you wait for me?"

"Sure thing, bud." Buck closed the door and lounged against the wall, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Maddie had sent him some pictures from their Christmas Day, and he was watching a video of Charlotte playing amongst the wrapping paper when he heard raised voices coming from the dining room.

"You're smothering him," he heard Adriana snap. "You have other grandchildren. Do you think they don't see the pile of presents for Christopher? How are Buck and Eddie going to get everything home?"

"You went completely overboard, Mom," Sophia added. "You can't keep doing this. Christopher is miserable."

"He's not miserable!" Helena protested. "He loves being here. He'd be so much happier here—"

"Mom, we're not going through this again." Eddie sounded exasperated.

"You two could transfer out here to El Paso," Ramon suggested. "You could back out of this contract and buy something much nicer out here. Why don't you want to come home? It's not like Buck has a family to go back to."

Buck raised his eyebrows, listening just out of sight.

"He does have a family – we both do," Eddie said coldly. "Our family is in Los Angeles."

"There's nothing keeping you in LA and you know it," Ramon said dismissively.

"Abuela? Pepa? Our jobs? Buck's sister? Our friends?"

"It's too dangerous there. You two are always getting into trouble. Eddie, please. Why don't you ever think of Christopher?" Helena demanded.

"That's enough!" Grandpa Bill suddenly snapped, his voice echoing through the room. Buck even snapped to attention, his eyes widening. "Now, I've sat here and listened for a week as you two complained about the way your son is raising his son, and I've had enough. Eddie is a grown man. He is married, and they live in Los Angeles. They're buying a house there. That is where they have chosen to put down roots. You do not get to dictate to him how he lives his life."

"Bill, please," Ramon said. "Nobody is interested in your opinion."

"I'm very interested," Adriana said snidely.

"Now, you listen to me," Grandpa Bill said sternly. "You've raised three wonderful children. Intelligent, confident, tough kids – you did a good job in that regard. But they stopped being your kids when they turned twenty-one and began their lives. You need to stop interfering. Understand?"

"You never stop caring about your children, Dad!" Helena protested, sounding as though she was on the verge of tears.

"No, but you have to stop coddling them at some point. Now, I've been quiet, but this is Christmas dinner and you've started up with this malarkey again, and I've had enough. Leave your children alone – they're adults. Now, pass the rolls, please."

There was a long silence. Buck finally heard Sophia say, "So what about the Rangers game, huh?"

"Awful," Adriana remarked.

"Worst they've played in years," Grant agreed. "Don’t know how they're going to turn around the season."

Buck silently went back to the bathroom, just as the door opened and Christopher emerged. He held his arms out, and Buck knelt to give him a cuddle. "What's wrong, buddy?" Buck whispered in his ear.

"I hate it. Everyone's fighting all the time. I just want to sit with the other kids."

"I know." Buck rubbed his back. "I'm sorry. We should've fought for you to do that. Come on – we'll go back out and you can sit with them."

"There's not enough chairs. Grandma will get mad at me."

Buck checked his watch and said, "Not too much longer. Can you hang in there for me through dessert? I made pecan pie."

"I hate the food."

"I made this one, buddy. Not Grandma."

Christopher sniffled. "Okay."

Buck kissed his forehead and stood up. "Come on. We can do this."

They returned to the table, and Eddie helped Christopher into his seat, leaning in to whisper in his ear. Christopher cupped his hand over his mouth and whispered something back to him, and Eddie gave him a reassuring smile, patting his cheek.

Grandpa Bill's outburst seemed to have eased the tensions at the table, and Buck relaxed and had another glass of wine as the family discussed the lives of various people in and around El Paso, which led to some debate about what had become of former classmates of Adriana and Sophia's, which led to Adriana pulling out her phone to search on Facebook.

All in all, the mood had lifted, but Christopher was still quiet, resting his head against Eddie's shoulder, about as sombre as Buck had ever seen him. Eddie kept glancing down at him worriedly and then at Buck, and when there was a flurry of movement at the table as Helena began to collect their dishes to take into the kitchen, he mouthed to Buck, ' _Should we take him home?_ '

Buck lifted his shoulders. ' _After dessert_ ,' he finally mouthed back, rising to his feet to help Helena with the dishes.

"Oh Buck, we've got this," Adriana said to him. "You relax."

"No, no, I've got longer arms than you," he teased her, pilling plates up. Eddie made a move to stand as well, but Buck said to him, "I've got this; you perk up the kid."

Eddie nodded, physically lifting Christopher out of his seat and settling him on his lap. Buck left them to it and helped the others in the kitchen until Grandpa Bill dragged him away to try to bully him into drinking eggnog.

"Now listen here," he said, pouring a glass for Buck. "This will warm you right up. It's good for you."

"I don't like egg drinks," Buck tried to object, as the glass was thrust into his hands. "I really don't like egg drinks, and Eddie's driving—"

"Nonsense, just give it a sip," Grandpa Bill said, downing a mouthful of his own and smacking his lips together. "Delicious!"

Buck wrinkled his nose, sniffed the liquid, and took a hesitant sip, turning to catch Eddie's eyes as he did so. Eddie was grinning at him, his chin on the top of Christopher's head, sweeping Christopher's arms back and forth as though he was conducting the classical music playing softly from the stereo. Christopher actually had a smile on his face, and when he realised Buck was drinking eggnog and hating it, he began to giggle.

His tongue curled at the taste and feel of the liquid, and his stomach flipped, but with Grandpa Bill shaking his shoulder and encouraging him, he drank the whole glass and tried not to gag. "Great," he said hoarsely, wiping his lips. "That's good. No more for me, thanks."

"How about a glass of whiskey?" Grandpa Bill suggested, grabbing a bottle of Lagavulin from the shelf. "On the rocks? Neat?"

"Grandpa," Eddie called sharply, and when they turned to him, he was shaking his head firmly. "Stop trying to get my husband drunk. He's had enough."

Buck noticed Martin smirking from behind a glass of his own, but ignored it.

"Oh, piddleposh," Grandpa Bill snapped, pouring a glass and passing it to Buck. "There you go. Put some hair on your chest."

"I'll drink it over here," he said, gesturing to his seat, and went to join Eddie and Christopher. The others were laying the desserts out on the table – in addition to the pecan pie and cheesecake, Helena had made an apple and rhubarb crumble.

"Back to your seat?" Eddie asked Christopher, who nodded. Once he was settled, Eddie leaned across and whispered in Buck's ear, "The pecan pie is yours, right?"

"Uh huh."

"It looks amazing." He pressed a light kiss to his cheek, and Buck smiled softly at him.

"All right everyone, dig in!" Helena said. "Cobbler? Would anyone like some cobbler? I've got some vanilla ice cream to go with it."

"Buck, is this the same pecan pie you made at your Thanksgiving do?" Adriana asked, cutting herself a slice.

"Yes, it is."

"It's delicious," Eddie added. "Just like Abuela's."

"And the cheesecake as well, man, you've outdone yourself," Grant said from behind Adriana. "I'll cut some for the kids, babe."

As everyone was helping themselves, Eddie made sure to snag two pieces of pie – one for himself, and one for Christopher. Buck noticed Helena's eyes darting back and forth as her cobbler went mostly ignored, and he purposely reached out and scooped some out for himself, adding some ice cream to his bowl.

"Cobbler?" she asked Eddie, who already had a mouthful of pecan pie. "You used to love my cobbler. Let me give you some."

He shook his head, holding a hand over his mouth and said, "I'm sorry, Mom – I'll take some back to the house with us, okay? I'll have it tomorrow."

"Christopher will have some," she decided, leaning over the table to spoon some into his bowl, dumping it on top of the pecan pie. "There you go."

Christopher, who was too nice to say no, simply looked up at Buck helplessly. He wouldn't eat cooked apples, so while Helena was distracted trying to dish more of her dessert out to her father and the rest of the children, Buck quickly took Christopher's bowl and added the cobbler to his dish.

"It's wrecked," Christopher breathed in his ear. "The apples touched it."

"Okay." Buck took the rest of the pecan pie out as well, cut a new slice for Christopher while her back was turned, and handed the bowl to him. "There you go; eat quickly."

Christopher flashed him a grateful smile and dug in.

Buck quickly ate as much as he could before she sat down again, ignoring Adriana grinning at him from across the table. It wasn't the best cobbler he'd ever had but not the worst, and he hoped Helena was none the wiser as she sat down again, with a mostly empty dish.

Clearly sensing an opportunity for mischief, Adriana took a bite of the cheesecake and said, "Mmm. Buck, you've outdone yourself. This is delicious."

"So creamy," Grant added – not maliciously, but he was enthusiastically cutting himself another slice.

Helena shot Adriana an unhappy look. "Did you try some of the cobbler? You usually love my cobbler."

"No, I'm only having this," she replied. "Try some; it's delicious. Go on. Buck's an amazing cook."

"Yeah, well, he certainly spent all day with the women in the kitchen, didn't he?" Martin said dryly.

"Because we asked him and he said that he would help," Sophia replied. "Literally any one of you could've come in and offered to help. Just because it's cooking, doesn't mean it's an inherently female role. Eddie kept coming in every half an hour to see if he could volunteer himself."

"Well, Eddie can't cook, so we said no," Helena remarked.

"He can cook," Buck spoke up, though he immediately regretted it when Helena gave him a frosty glare. "I mean… he's really good at pasta. He cooks a few nights a week; it's not just me. If that's what you were thinking."

"Well, I suppose you have to figure out who's doing what," Ramon said to him. "There's no obvious division of labour. One of you has to perform the jobs around the house that the wife normally would, and I guess that would be you, Buck."

"No," Eddie objected, dropping his spoon on the table. "No, we share things equally. Can we drop this subject, please? Buck and I don't have to justify how we run our household."

"I'm just saying," Ramon said, as Adriana and Sophia groaned in unison, "that one person has to sacrifice for the good of the family. It's usually the wife."

"Well, that's Buck," Martin said dryly. "He's clearly Eddie's wife."

Eddie levelled him with a glare. "And why do you think that?"

"It's pretty obvious who the bitch and who the butch is."

There was dead silence at the table. Christopher looked up at Buck, totally confused, and then jumped with fright when Sophia slammed down her knife and fork and shouted at her husband, "You did not just say that, Martin!"

"What? It's the truth. Someone had to say it," he said, stabbing a piece of apple with his fork. "He does whatever Eddie tells him to do."

"That's not true," Eddie snapped. "You don't know anything about us."

Christopher was shaking his head, shrinking back into his seat, so Buck stood, swiftly lifted him up and carried him out of the room. He strode out to the porch, trying not to show any sign that he was upset as well, and decided a visit to the horses would do them both the world of good.

~~

"Everyone needs to calm down," Ramon shouted over the voices of his arguing children. Everyone was berating Martin, even Helena, who Eddie had assumed would be on his side.

Martin was sitting there, on his third glass of whiskey, a smug smile on his face. He'd done exactly what he intended to, and Sophia was crying, Adriana was shouting at him, Grant was serving himself another piece of cheesecake, Helena had her head in her hands, Ramon was still calling for peace and Grandpa Bill was shaking his head in disappointment at the whole scene.

Buck had taken Christopher and fled, so Eddie pushed his chair out and went into the living room to organise their things. That was where Sophia found him, stuffing toys into Christopher's backpack.

"I'm sorry," she said haltingly, tears streaming down her face.

"It's not your fault." Eddie glanced at her, sifting through the pile of presents, unsure of what belonged to Christopher and what didn't. "I think you should leave him. I really want you to think about it."

She nodded, wiping her eyes. "Okay."

"I'm worried about you."

"I know, I just… he's the father of my kids, and…"

"He's a total dick, and you've been crying all weekend," Eddie said imploringly. "If you want to come to LA with us, I can book you and the kids on a flight. I can stay and help."

"Stay and help?" Adriana asked from behind them, her voice low. "Leave him, right?"

Sophia began to weep again.

"Soph," Adriana said quietly. "You're fooling yourself if you think I haven't been paying attention."

"Eddie, please don't go," Ramon said from the doorway, Helena at his side. Sophia turned her back on her parents, wiping her eyes. "Please. Go get Buck, and Martin will apologise."

"No, Christopher's tired, and we're going home," Eddie said bluntly. "I'm not trying to be difficult – I just don't want to sit through this anymore. You're clearly trying, and I appreciate that but… this… has not been fun for either of us. Buck's not my wife, and he's not a bitch. He's my husband, and he spent all day helping you in the kitchen and received no thanks for it. You haven't even put up any of the photos I sent through from our wedding," he said bitterly. "So I get it. You're still not happy about this, but don't take it out on my husband. He's done nothing to deserve any of this."

His parents were silent. Eddie just shook his head, looking down at the pile of presents, and added, "And this is too much, and you know it. Christopher's embarrassed. You didn't spend nearly as much on his cousins. I'm going to leave it here, and he can decide what he wants tomorrow. We'll come by at some point."

"Eddie," Ramon said quietly, but Eddie grabbed their bags and Christopher's crutches, kissed Adriana and Sophia on the cheek, and walked out of the house.

Buck and Christopher were over with the horses, but Buck turned when he heard footsteps on gravel. Eddie waved to them, and Buck lifted Christopher up in his arms and strode over to join him.

"I'm sorry," Eddie said to him as he approached. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He was filled with guilt, for putting Buck through it – for thinking that his family would somehow be able to hold it together for a weekend.

"None of this is your fault," Buck replied, but tilted his head towards Christopher pointedly.

He was upset, and clinging to Buck, clearly worn out after an emotional evening. Eddie pulled both of them in for a hug and said softly, "It's okay. I know this has been tough for all of us, but we're going home."

"Eddie," his mother called from the porch, and he inwardly groaned.

Buck loaded Christopher into the backseat, and Eddie took a few steps towards her. "We're going home," he said, but she hurried down the steps, holding out a gift box. "Mom, he has enough gifts."

"This is for you and Buck," she said, on the verge of tears. "I had it made. I used one of the photos you sent me. I was… going to give it to you yesterday, and then… this morning, and then… this afternoon, but… I kept second-guessing myself. And I didn't take down that photo of you and Shannon because I felt guilty – like I was erasing her. And I thought I should leave it there for Christopher." Helena pushed the box towards him. "I haven't had the photos framed yet, but I got you this, so… please, would you just open it?"

Eddie turned to Buck – it was freezing cold outside, and none of them were wearing a warm enough coat, but he quickly opened the wrapping and handed it to Buck, before popping the lid off the box. Inside was a painting of them kissing – taken from one of the photos of their first kiss as husbands.

Eddie was inexplicably touched, but it was Buck who said, in a low, awestruck voice, "This is beautiful, Mrs Diaz. I love it. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she said, wringing her hands together. "I know I've made a lot of mistakes, and I know… Christopher has been very unhappy. I really wanted this weekend to go smoothly, without any fighting, but… I just keep making you all upset."

Eddie exchanged a quick look with Buck and then said, "Mom, you just… need to calm down a bit. You're smothering Christopher. He just needs some space. He's ten now. He doesn't need to be watched constantly."

She nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. Eddie, I am going to get the photos framed."

"It's okay. Thank you for this," he said, gazing down at the picture again. "It's beautiful. Your friend did it, right?"

"Yeah, she did. She's very talented."

"She is. Hey – if we sent a photo of Charlotte, um, Maddie and Chimney's daughter – would she do one of her as well?" he asked.

Helena's eyebrows flew up, and she nodded. "Oh, I'm sure she would."

"We'll pay her, obviously… but her first birthday is coming up, and it's probably too soon—"

"No, if you give me the photo, I'll speak to her and she'll make it for you," Helena reassured him. "She did this for me in under a week."

"That'd be great," he replied. "Thanks, Mom. And dinner was great."

She smiled at him, touching his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too. Say goodnight to Christopher before we go," he said, and she nodded, hurrying over to the car.

~

They waited until Christopher was tucked into bed before sitting down to de-brief about everything. Eddie rubbed his face with both hands, sighed and said, "Okay."

"Yeah." Buck had a smile on his face. "Your family is… insane."

He nodded. "I know."

"Did Shannon—"

"Yes, it's always been like this."

"I mean, I'm impressed everyone was able to hold it together as long as they did. I guess Martin really hates us," he commented.

"I thought you were angry."

"No, just worried about Christopher. I don't care what anybody says," he said to Eddie, who smiled sadly at him. "You and Christopher are more important to me than what your brother-in-law thinks. If he's really that dumb, that's his problem."

"Buck… maybe I need to stop calling you baby or—"

"Don't you dare." Buck rested his head against the back of the couch, gazing at Eddie fondly. "It's okay. They're trying, at least. That's fine. But Christopher hates it."

"I know. I don't know what to do."

"It's the fighting, and not being able to sit with the other kids, and your parents just… going way overboard with him. The other kids are pretty upset about it."

Eddie sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Did you see the pile of presents?"

"Yeah, I did. I was thinking we see what he wants to take and maybe give the rest to a children's hospital or something? If your parents are cool with that? We're going to need to buy another suitcase if we want to take it all back with us."

Eddie leaned in to kiss him impulsively. "Exactly my thinking as well," he replied, cupping Buck's face with his hands. "And I think Christopher will like that idea."

"Good." Buck kissed him again, and when they parted he murmured, "We gotta tell Adriana about Sophia."

"She knows. I told Sophia to leave him, but I don't know what she'll do." Eddie ran his fingers over Buck's birthmark and heaved another sigh. "I'm really worried about her."

"I know; me too. Hopefully she makes a decision. Adriana will back her up."

"Yeah, she will." Eddie yawned suddenly, covering his mouth. "Sorry."

Buck gave him a warning look. "Don't – we have a video to watch. Don't even think about going to sleep."

"I think I can rally for you." Eddie kissed him again, and then pulled him to his feet. "Come on. You've waited all day."

"Yeah, I've been really good too," Buck teased, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him, kissing his neck. "Very patient."

"Very," Eddie agreed, flipping off the lights and leading them down the hall to the bedroom. He stuffed a towel under the door in a shoddy attempt to block out any noise, grabbed his laptop from the top of their suitcase, and passed it to Buck.

Buck logged in, wriggling around in excitement. "Where is it?"

"Here," Eddie said, crawling onto the bed beside him. He clicked into the hidden folder and then whispered in Buck's ear, "The password is buckbutt."

Buck snorted with laughter, pulling his headphones on. "Original."

"Thanks. You inspired me."

The video was two parts – the first couple of minutes were a slideshow of pictures of them together, and Buck eyes became a little misty as the images flashed on the screen. The idea had been to lull him into a false sense of security, so when the real show began, he wouldn't be expecting it.

And clearly he wasn't – when _Your Song_ segued into Ginuwine's _Pony_ , Buck jumped with surprise, and then gasped. "Oh my god."

It wasn't a very good video. He didn't have a tripod, so he'd put his camera on a stack of books on the bed, and then done a couple of awkward run-throughs before deciding to just wing it and take his clothes off while he danced. The lighting wasn't great, because he'd closed all the curtains and even the bedroom door, and during the first take of the video – which he'd permanently deleted – his foot had become trapped in his jeans, and he'd fallen face-first onto the floor.

But Buck was watching the screen with huge eyes, flushed red with excitement. Eddie had stripped completely for this video, but cut almost instantly after the reveal, and Buck immediately scrolled it back to the start of the striptease.

"Baby…"

"Shhh."

Eddie considered him, and then moved so he was between his legs, tugging his sweats down. Buck moved the computer from his lap to the bed beside him, already hard, and Eddie wasted no time leaning in and wrapping his lips around his cock. Buck let out a squeak, reaching down to twist his fingers in Eddie's hair, thrusting his hips up involuntarily.

"You know what I like about this," Buck whispered, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath, "is that you know how fucking hot you are, and you know exactly what I like and this is the greatest thing you've ever given me."

Eddie lifted his head, wiping his lips, and said haughtily, "I gave you my hand in marriage."

"That was good too."

~

Eddie sat down with Christopher the next morning and said, "Okay, I know you had a bad night."

Christopher nodded unhappily.

"And I know you hate it here."

He nodded again.

"But we go home tomorrow," Eddie said quietly, "and you won't have to come back again for a long time. Thank you for toughing it out with us, buddy."

"I don't like the way they talk to Buck," Christopher said softly. "And I don't like getting more attention than everyone else. It's _embarrassing._ "

Eddie slid an arm around his shoulders and said, "I talked to your Grandma last night. I asked her to cool it. Buck and I were thinking that if you don't want all those presents, we might donate them to the children's hospital. What do you think?"

Christopher's eyes lit up. "Could we?"

"Yeah, we definitely can. How about we go over and pick them up, and you can decide which ones you want to keep, and then we'll go to the hospital before we get some lunch?" Eddie suggested.

"Okay," Christopher agreed happily, as Buck strolled into the room, buttoning his shirt. "Buck, we're going to donate the gifts!"

"That's such a good idea – I wonder who had that good idea?" he teased Eddie, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie said, turning to Christopher again. "Now, Buck and I have to meet some people for drinks tonight," he said seriously. "Are you happy to spend one night with your grandparents? Great-Grandpa will be there as well. They do want to spend a little time with you one-on-one before we go home."

"It won't be a late night," Buck added. "We'll pick you up around seven."

"Okay," Christopher agreed. "But I don't want to eat any cobbler."

"You'll probably get ice cream," Eddie reassured him. "But today, we've got a lot planned, all right? We've got to cram in some sight-seeing, so let's get to it."

"You should bring your new camera," Christopher suggested. "And Buck should wear his hat."

Eddie looked over at Buck, who took the hat off the table and placed it on his head, running his fingers along the brim. "I think I do look very fine – very fine indeed – in this here cowboy hat," he drawled, in what Eddie guessed was an attempt at a broad Texan accent. "If I do say so myself."

"You sound like Colonel Sanders," Eddie said dryly.

Buck winked at him. "M'lady."

Laughing, Eddie shook his head and said, "I'm not your lady."

"Didn't we get into an extensive discussion about gender roles last night? You should be flattered." Buck admired himself in the mirror. "I make this look good. I'm going to wear it."

"Yeah!" Christopher cheered. "Dad, take a photo."

"No, wait until I'm near some kind of cactus," Buck said to Eddie, who rolled his eyes. "Make it look really authentic. We could do a whole series of me posing with Texan things."

"Texan things," Eddie repeated. "Like cacti."

"Cacti," Christopher repeated, and giggled.

"What in tarnation?" Buck added in his terrible Texan accent, his eyes full of mischief.

Eddie sighed. "It's a word! It's the plural of cactus!"

"You keep your fancy book learnin' to yourself, we don't want none of that round these parts," Buck intoned.

"Is this going to be an all-day thing or are you going to get over it quickly?"

"All day," Christopher said, glancing at Buck, who tipped his hat to him.

"Indeed, young man!"

Eddie rubbed his face. "Oh god. If you keep this up, I'll take a video and send it to the team."

Buck smirked at him. "You think this embarrasses me? _Eddie_. I thought you knew me better than that."

~~

They stopped by Ramon and Helena's to sort through the gifts, and Buck was pulled aside individually by them both and apologised to profusely.

It was Ramon who took him aside first and said, "You know, I like you a lot. And I was stunned at first, and it's taken me some time to wrap my head around it, but… at the end of the day, Eddie picked the right person. I think you two complement each other very well, and Christopher just adores you. I'm sorry about what Sophia's idiotic husband said. And I certainly meant no offence to you either, Buck. I really am sorry. Next time we host you, I promise, it won't be like this."

"Thank you," he said. "No hard feelings here. I know this has been a big adjustment for you."

"We'd hoped this weekend would've gone smoothly, but… there are always issues in a big family, I guess," he said, as Helena joined them. "Ah, here she is. You talk to Buck, dear."

Once they were alone, Helena said quietly, "I'm very sorry about my behaviour."

"It's okay—"

"Please don't tell me that it's okay when we both know it isn't." She folded her arms across her chest, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, and then said, "This is so stupid and I hate admitting it, but Ramon said my behaviour made it pretty clear. Buck… it's not that I don't like you. It's just that… I'm feeling a bit threatened." She winced, as though the words were hard to say, and shook her head.

He was genuinely confused. "By me?"

"Yes… you're just so wonderful and capable, and Christopher speaks about you all the time – so highly, all the time, about everything you do… how excited he is to move into your new house, and how you are planning a little memorial garden for Shannon when you do up the backyard, and how wonderful you cook… it's hard for me," she admitted. "When Shannon came into Eddie's life, she tried her best, but she never really fit in with us. She was always on the outs. Adriana and Sophia didn't really like her, and Ramon and I didn't like her, and she kept _trying_ , and I… just wanted Eddie to be done with her. I know that's awful. And I know she gave us Christopher, and… I know he loved her, but…" she trailed off, gazing at the floor. "I was happy when she left him."

Buck nodded, totally unsurprised by her admission. From what Eddie had told her, Shannon had struggled from day one to fit in with the Diaz family.

"But now he has you, and the girls absolutely love you. Grant thinks you're great. Martin is…" she trailed off, grimacing, and then said, "a piece of work. But everyone else just adores you, and I feel a little bit like I've lost Eddie again."

"Oh," he said, surprised. "Oh."

"Yeah. He took off to LA and all we've heard about since he left is his friend Buck, who is now his husband Buck, who is now… our new son-in-law, Buck." She smiled at him sadly. "And you're quite the man. You're a wonderful cook. They love you so much. I just… I can't compete anymore."

"I don't see it as a competition," Buck said gently. "You asked me to help out in the kitchen, so I did. I just want you to like me."

Helena's eyes filled with tears. "I do like you. A lot."

"I like you too. And that painting you gave us is so beautiful and thoughtful. I already know where we can hang it in our new house," he said, holding his hand out. She took it, smiling up at him sadly. "Mrs Diaz—"

"Helena," she corrected. "Please."

"Helena. I really like being a part of your big family. You know what my parents are like… I just want to fit in with you guys."

She smiled at him, taking his hand. "You do. I promise."

"I'd like to convince Eddie and Christopher to come back a bit more frequently, you know? I really like it here. It's a nice city."

"You could move here?" she suggested hopefully, but deflated when he shook his head. "Your family is there."

"Yep. But we have guest rooms now," he said with a laugh, "which means that when you visit, you have a place to stay. And when we have more kids, I want them to have grandparents who are involved."

"I really want that," she admitted tearfully.

"Us too. Can I hug you now?"

She nodded, and wrapped him in a hug, just as Eddie stepped into the room. He raised his eyebrows at Buck over her shoulder, a small smile playing on his lips, and when they parted he said, "Mom, we're going to take off now, but we'll be back after we do some sightseeing to drop Christopher off for dinner."

"Does he want to do that?" she asked worriedly, wiping her eyes.

He nodded. "Yep. He's looking forward to it. Dad promised him that you guys are having hot dogs."

"Good," she said with relief. "Okay. You three better get going."

As they walked with Christopher out to the car, clutching a bag of presents, Eddie murmured to Buck, "Everything okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I think we understand each other now."

"Good." Eddie flashed him a grin. "They both apologised to me as well. I told them to keep an eye on Sophia; that… she's not happy, and they need to be prepared if she leaves him. Dad said they know what's going on and they'll make sure she's okay, so… I'll reach out to her again this afternoon, but if she doesn't want to come, I'm not going to force her."

"No, but at least everyone knows," Buck said, helping Christopher into the backseat. "Come on. Let's go do some good deeds."

~~

Christopher only kept two of the presents from his grandparents – a fire engine Lego set and a Goosebumps book collection – and the rest they donated to the children's hospital.

Afterwards, they grabbed some lunch from a nearby café and then when to explore El Paso – Buck wearing his cowboy hat, posing for as many pictures as Eddie would take of him. Eddie was finally able to take them to the lookout, and snapped his first Polaroid of Buck and Christopher with the city behind them. He produced a padlock from his backpack and carefully wrote their names on it, and took a photo of Buck and Christopher fastening it to the fence.

By mid-afternoon, Eddie had received a text from Sam with the location of the bar they were to meet at, so they drove Christopher back to his grandparents' house and dropped him off for the evening. Buck googled the name of the bar as they went back into the city and said, "Huh, it's one in that Pride Square I was talking about."

"Oh god."

"It might not mean anything."

"They're overcompensating, I bet." Eddie rubbed his forehead, his stomach twisted with nerves. "God, I just want to go home. I'm over this."

"We'll be home this time tomorrow," Buck murmured. "Ooh, buffalo wings. We're getting some."

"If this is bad, we're leaving."

Buck nodded. "You just give me the signal – flailing arms – and we'll go."

"Flailing arms," Eddie repeated, and elbowed him. "No, I'll death stare you until you make an excuse for us to leave."

~

Eddie was not expecting to walk into Chiquita's Bar & Grill and find a gathering of about fifteen people from high school, but there they were, and suddenly he was engulfed with people. Some of them he hadn't seen since the last day of high school, and so he dragged Buck along with him, introducing him as they went.

They finally found themselves at a table with Sam, Maria, Nate and Joey. Eddie had been on the baseball team with the three guys, and Maria was sitting with them because she'd been trailing after him most of the afternoon.

Buck returned to the table with a round of beers, setting them down in the middle, and taking his seat beside Eddie. Eddie took his hand under the table and squeezed it, sharing an affectionate look with him.

"So," Sam said, uncapping a beer. "How did you guys meet, anyway?"

"My first day at the 118," Eddie replied. "Buck was a total dick to me."

Buck made a face. "Not a total dick, just… mildly dickish."

"How long did that last?" Sam asked.

"About twelve hours, and then he was my best friend," Eddie said with a grin. "He got over it quickly."

"Wow, I mean, I just never expected this from you, Eddie," Nate said. "You always had so many girls wanting you."

"Probably still do," Maria remarked, tipping her beer at him.

He shook his head. "No, I don't know. I don't pay any attention."

"I remember this one time," Joey said with a grin, "where that girl… what was her name? Destiny?"

"Daisy," Sam supplied.

"Daisy! That's right. She used to write Eddie poems and read them out in English class," he said to Buck, who cringed. "Yeah. She loved him. And she wanted to ask him to the prom – do you remember this, Eddie?"

He nodded, embarrassed. "Yeah."

"Ugh, she was the worst," Maria said, rolling her eyes. "What a loser."

"She wasn't that bad," Sam objected. "She was a little weird but… like, she was nice. I remember she used to help me with math sometimes, because I was so terrible at it. Probably a good thing I didn't try to become an engineer like my dad wanted me to. Anyway, she wanted to go to prom with Eddie," he said to Buck, who was listening avidly. "And Eddie and Maria had just broken up, so he was going stag—"

"I was trying to convince him to get back together so we could go," Maria added. "But he turned me down."

"Well, you cheated on me, as I recall," Eddie said dryly. "That might've been the reason."

Sam held his hands out to silence them and said to Buck, " _Anyway_ , she wrote Eddie this poem. And I don't remember it exactly, but it was something like… the sweat glistening on your skin when you run track, and the way your eyes glitter… it was… a lot."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad," Nate agreed, shaking his head. "She read it out in the cafeteria in front of everyone."

Buck glanced at Eddie, who was staring into his beer. He remembered that day clearly – how terrified she'd been. She'd always been quiet and timid, afraid of just about everyone – she didn't have many friends. Eddie had never been a bully. He didn't really have a mean bone in his body. At the time he'd thought the attention was sort of flattering, but harmless.

"She was such a fucking weirdo," Maria was saying to Buck, rolling her eyes. "Like, a serial killer. So gross."

"No," Sam objected again. "She wasn't. She came from a bad home. Her dad was a piece of shit, alcoholic, who used to scream at her and hit her. I remember – I went to elementary school with her. She always had bruises. She was a nice girl in a shitty situation. Just shut up and let me finish. Anyway, Buck – she reads out this poem, and Eddie sat there silently and listened, and as soon as she finished, everyone started laughing. Everyone. So she turns and runs out of the cafeteria crying before he could respond."

"Jesus," Buck murmured, glancing at Eddie unhappily.

"But Eddie goes after her," Nate said, pointing to him. "And he says yes, and took her to our senior prom. Went and picked her up in a limo and everything. Gave her flowers, the whole nine yards."

Eddie nodded. "I felt bad for her. And I had no one else to go with."

"Um, me?" Maria snapped.

He sighed. "Let's not, please? I have no interest in dredging up shit from high school."

"And Maria, you're like, totally ignoring the fact that you screwed Dave Masters behind the bleachers during one of Eddie's baseball matches, probably more than once," Joey pointed out.

"Guys, that's very uncalled for."

"Uncalled for? You're the one being mean about a woman who probably doesn't even remember your name," Sam said bluntly. "The reason I brought her up is because she's working for the Biden administration now. She works at the White House. I saw her earlier this year when I ran into her at the supermarket here in town – I think her grandmother had just passed away. She came up to me and asked if I remembered her, and I said yes, of course I do. She asked about you, Eddie."

"She did?" he asked, surprised. "I haven't seen her since graduation."

"Yeah. I told her that you were in Los Angeles and that as far as I knew, you were doing really well for yourself. So she gave me her card and asked me to pass it onto you, because she wants to say thank you for doing that for her back then, and not being a dick about it. Apparently you were the perfect gentleman and it was a night she's never forgotten." Sam fished a card out of his wallet and passed it across to him. "Up to you if you get in touch. I'm just the middleman."

"We're calling her," Buck said to Eddie, who smiled at him. "We are."

"If you want," he replied, passing the card to him.

"I want to see pictures of this prom night."

"Um… we can have a look when we pick up Christopher? My mom will probably have some in an album."

Maria suddenly said, "It would've been much nicer for you if you'd gone with somebody decent."

"Lay off, Maria, nobody cares," Sam snapped.

She shook her head, leaning across the table to catch Eddie's attention. "Maybe we could talk in private?"

"No," he said flatly.

"But I have some things I'd like to say to you—"

"No, I'm good. We can only stay a little while longer. We have to pick up our son," he said pointedly, downing a mouthful of beer. "Listen, if you still have some kind of feelings for me, I'm really not interested. I'm happily married. It's been nice to see you, but we're going home tomorrow."

"You're too nice, Eddie," Sam muttered, shooting Maria a surreptitious glare.

She snatched her purse off the table and stood. "Well, fine," she said, smoothing out her dress. "I hope you're very happy with your choices." With that, she stormed out of the bar.

The other three guys seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief, and leaned across the table again. "So did you have like a big gay ceremony in Los Angeles?" Nate asked curiously.

"Yeah, do you know celebrities? Do you know Neil Patrick Harris?" Joey demanded, his eyes wide. "Do you guys all hang out together?"

"Uh…" Eddie trailed off. "No?"

Buck furrowed his brow. "Who's Neil Patrick Harris? Is he the guy who drives the ladder truck for Lena's station?"

~

As soon as they returned to Eddie's parents' house, Buck immediately asked to see Eddie's prom photos, and Helena lit up instantly and dashed upstairs to retrieve the photo albums. She returned, laying them out on the dining table in front of Buck, and flipped through to find the pictures.

"No, that's Adriana," she murmured, tapping her lips. "That awful green dress. Ah, here we are." She opened the page to a large photo of Eddie and his date – a shorter blonde girl, with glasses, wearing a dress with a high neckline. "That's Daisy. She was lovely."

Eddie had Christopher in his arms, swinging him back and forth. "She was a nice girl. We actually had a really good night."

"That story was true?" Buck asked him. "You did that for her?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"That was so nice of you, Eds."

Eddie shrugged, embarrassed. "It was a long time ago."

"No, but she'll never forget it." Buck studied the photo again, shaking his head. "You never told me that. That's so awesome. I want to call her."

"Oh god," Eddie groaned. "Can we go? This one is tired."

"Yeah," came Christopher's muffled mumble.

Buck nodded, rising to his feet, but pausing to flip the page, where there was a solo picture of Eddie in his tuxedo. Buck leaned over to examine it and then said to Helena, "Can you send me this? A copy of it?"

"No," Eddie objected from the door.

She nodded at him. "Will do."

"Thanks." Buck tapped the page and closed the book. "Okay, let's say our goodbyes."

~

Eddie flopped into bed beside Buck, who immediately pulled him in close, pressing kisses to his cheek. "Tell me your version of the prom story."

He sighed. "Buck…"

"Because you are just like… Prince Charming and I'm so in love with you," he said in a voice filled with devotion.

Eddie smiled up at him, shrugging. "I don't know… I felt bad for her. She was always on her own, and she had a big crush on me… and everyone started laughing at her in the cafeteria and I just thought, I'm not going to stand by and just… watch people tear her down. So I chased after her and told her how much I liked the poem, and I said if she wanted to, I'd take her to the prom. And she said that I didn't have to, and that she knew she'd put me in an awkward position where I felt like I had to say yes, and I said no, I want to take you to the prom. Let's go to the prom together."

"And then what?" Buck encouraged him.

He sighed. "And then… I told my mom what had happened, and she said that I needed to commit to it, and that this girl would remember that night for the rest of her life, good or bad. And so I needed to be a gentleman and treat her well, so I did. I got her a corsage, and a limo, and… picked her up… and we actually had a really good night together. And… when we were in the limo driving her home, she asked me if I would kiss her – her first kiss – and so I did," he said, embarrassed. "And that was it. We graduated pretty soon after and I gave her a hug at the ceremony, and that was the last time I saw her. It's weird to me that you want to call her."

"I'm going to send her an email," Buck replied, hugging him close. "And tell her that you're my husband now and I think it's the nicest story and I hope she's doing well. That's all."

"You're too nice."

"No, you are," Buck teased, and kissed him again.

~~

"And then what happened?" Maddie asked him in a hushed voice, leaning over the kitchen counter.

"Well I sent her the email but I haven't heard anything back," Buck replied, making a face as Charlotte tried to smush his cheeks with her tiny hands.

"Oh," she replied, frowning deeply. "I hope she replies. That's so sweet of Eddie."

"He's a sweetheart, I keep telling you."

They'd been back in town for a week, and were currently being hosted at Maddie and Chimney's house for New Year's Eve. Eddie, Buck and Christopher had been the first to arrive, and Eddie and Chimney were currently arguing about whether or not the 118 should put a baseball team together to compete in the LAFD competition.

"But I play baseball!" Eddie's voice wafted down the hall towards them.

"It's a waste of time. The 136 wins it every year," Chimney argued.

Maddie rolled her eyes at Buck, and then said, "How's Sophia?"

He'd filled her in on everything that had happened almost as soon as they'd returned to LA, but as far as they were aware, things were at a standstill. Adriana had sat down with Sophia and had a long talk with her about everything, reassuring her that she would help her with whatever she needed, but the very next day Martin suggested that they start attending couples' counselling. Sophia had agreed, and that was the end of it.

"Well, they start counselling in the New Year," he said, uncapping two beers. "So I guess we'll see what happens from there, but… it was pretty bad. He's a real jerk, and he doesn't like Eddie and I. He made that perfectly clear."

"But you finally charmed the rest of the family," Maddie said with a grin. "Finally made them all your fans."

"Apparently so. If Ramon or Helena call the house and I answer, they're actually asking me how I am and seem interested in the answer," he said with a laugh. "Big difference."

"I'm glad, but I really hope this means that you haven't fallen in love with El Paso."

He shook his head. "No. It's a great place to visit, but it's not home."

"Good." She pointed salad tongs at him and said, "2022 – Christmas in LA."

"You say that like you think we won't have to work on Christmas Day," he replied, "and I know for a fact we will. We had to pull so many strings to get this time off. We've used all our favours – we're working at least the next two Christmases."

"We'll find a way to celebrate, but you and I, little brother, are having Christmas together," she said firmly. "That is non-negotiable."

~

The rest of the team trickled in, and Buck found himself seated beside Josh, who wanted to know all about their adventures in El Paso. "Because I'm interested in going to Dallas one day," he said. "There's a thriving gay scene there and I want to know all about it and maybe meet some nice cowboy, I don't know."

"Not sure about the gay scene in El Paso, but we did go to a gay bar in Pride Square for drinks, and it was very chilled out," Buck replied. "I think Eddie was worried we were going to come up against a lot of prejudice but there was nothing – except from the chick he used to date in high school, who was pretty clear about wanting him back."

"That ship has sailed," Josh intoned. Eddie glanced over at them from his place beside Bobby, and smiled softly at Buck. "That boy is so in love with you."

"I think I've got him beat there," Buck replied. "He's worried about not being gay enough. Not showing pride."

Josh waved his hand dismissively. "There are plenty of gay people out there who don't march," he replied. "It's not a big deal. As long as you guys are happy, that's what the people who came before us fought for, you know? For you and Eddie to be able to marry and have children, live together, share your lives… that wasn't possible, not that long ago. You guys are lucky. We all are."

Buck nodded, smiling at him. "I tried to say that, but you said it better."

"Well, I've been gay a lot longer than you," Josh teased him. "And you guys are only new to this. They won't kick you out if you don't cover your house in rainbows, Buck. It's okay."

"Hey, I put a sticker on the Jeep," he replied.

"Going above and beyond then, I see," Josh laughed. "Good for you. Hey, I've got a bet for you – Chimney is going to propose tonight."

Buck cast a look Chimney's way, and found him deep in conversation with Albert in the corner. He and Eddie had cornered him one day at work and asked why he hadn't proposed, and Chimney's answer was that it wasn't the right time. Buck wondered if maybe tonight was the night.

"All our friends are here," he murmured. "And Chimney even hung up lights in the house."

"He did." Josh tipped his glass at Buck. "It's happening tonight. I can feel it."

"I'm not taking your bet because I think you're right," Buck said, holding out his fist so Josh could bump it. "Let's see what happens."

~

He pulled Eddie aside and furiously whispered in his ear, and Eddie laughed and said, "No, he'll chicken out again. I'm sure of it."

"I think you're wrong," Buck objected, slipping his arms around Eddie's waist and pulling him in for a kiss.

Eddie was smiling against his lips, and murmured as they parted, "Let's cut out of here early."

"Nice try." Buck pressed his forehead against Eddie's, swaying with him to the music trickling out from the living room. "Another year with you, my love."

"Can't wait," Eddie murmured, sliding his hands down Buck's back to grab his butt. "Love of my life."

"Right back at you," Buck whispered, leaning in to kiss him again.

Their peace was suddenly shattered when Chimney groaned from the entrance, "Will you two cut it out and come play charades with us? God, always with the kissing!"

They broke apart. Eddie rested his head on Buck's shoulder, embarrassed, but Buck said haughtily, "Stop policing our romance, man."

Chimney laughed at him. "Is that what you think I'm doing? We're waiting for you so we can play charades, Buckley-HYPHEN-Diaz, let's go!"

"Actually he mostly goes by just Diaz," Eddie called, but Chimney gave them the finger and departed. "That was rude. I'm gonna sabotage his proposal now."

Buck kissed him again. "I'll help."

~

After a spirited game of charades followed by bad karaoke courtesy of Singstar – Chimney had to bust out his old Playstation for that – everyone was relaxing in the living room with some drinks, waiting for the clock to tick down.

With five minutes to go, the lights in the room suddenly dimmed, and the fairy lights that Chimney had strung up began to twinkle. Buck had Christopher on his lap, sleeping soundly, and Eddie beside him, his head on his shoulder. Neither were surprised when Frank Sinatra's ' _The Way You Look Tonight_ ' began to play, and Chimney stepped out into the living room, holding a velvet ring box in his hand.

Everyone gasped. Buck heard Josh whisper loudly, "I knew it."

Maddie, wearing a sparkly green dress, rose from her seat, her hand to her mouth. "Chim?"

"Hi Maddie," he said, tears in his eyes. "I need to ask you a question."

She nodded, on the verge of tears herself.

"You see, I've kinda been… putting this off, telling myself that there had to be a perfect time to ask you, but… I figured I couldn't go another year without being your husband," he said, his voice hoarse. "I think I have loved you from the first moment we met and I thought, god, this woman is way too beautiful and funny and smart to be _Buck's_ sister." Chimney winked at Buck, who just rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"And after everything we've been through, and our little surprise last year, to our beautiful daughter… and me, getting to wake up every day next to you, the woman of my dreams…" he trailed off. "Maddie, I love you so much. I've never loved anyone the way I love you."

"I love you too," she replied, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Chimney knelt on one knee, and there was a murmured gasp. Eddie rested his head on Buck's shoulder, squeezing his hand tightly, watching with misty eyes as Chimney said, "Maddie, will you marry me?"

"Yes," she exclaimed, with a little hop of joy. "Yes!"

They embraced with a kiss, and the room exploded with happiness.

~~

It was late when they arrived home, and Eddie put Christopher to bed with Max the cat while Buck tidied up the house. He found him in the hall, and they slipped into the bathroom together for a quick shower, before retiring to their bedroom. Eddie collapsed onto the bed, relieved their shift didn't start until the late afternoon, and cuddled up to Buck, throwing one leg over him in a sideways hug.

"Hey, she replied!" Buck suddenly exclaimed, patting Eddie's arm.

"Who?"

"Daisy. Your prom date."

"Oh. I still don't know why you reached out."

"Because she wanted to get in touch with you. Listen to this."

_"Dear Buck and Eddie,_

_Thank you so much for your email. I was very surprised but happy to receive it. I hope you are both doing well._

_Yes, I'm currently living and working in Washington, which has been very challenging but also incredibly rewarding. I spent a number of years abroad working with the United States Peace Corp but am very happy to have settled down with my husband in the capital._

_I was hoping to get in touch with Eddie to tell him how much I appreciate everything he did for me in high school. I recall all too well that I put him in an awkward position, but he was so lovely and generous to me. I've thought of him over the years and hoped he was doing well, and I'm very happy to find out that you two are married and have a son together._

_Maybe one day if I'm in Los Angeles I'll drop you a line and we can catch up, but for now, thank you so much for your email. I wish you both a happy and safe New Year, and all the best to your family._

_All the best,_

_Daisy Campion"_

Buck set his phone down, a huge smile on his face. "See? That was worth reaching out."

"Yeah, it was. I'm glad she's doing well for herself," Eddie murmured.

"It just goes to show the lasting effect your kindness has on people, honey bunny."

Eddie groaned, but Buck persisted, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. "You did a really nice thing for her and even though I bet it was a little embarrassing for you, you did the right thing. God, I would've had the biggest crush on you if we went to the same high school."

Eddie ran his fingers over Buck's nipple ring and murmured, "I'm glad it's over, though. I much prefer being here with you now."

"Me too." Buck pressed a kiss to his forehead, letting out a sigh. "God. We're going to have to throw Chim a bachelor party, you know."

"That's Albert's job; he'll be best man."

"You really think _Albert_ is going to let us get away with not helping? I bet he'll be on the phone to me this week." Buck reached out to turn the light off, and then found Eddie's lips in a soft kiss. "Happy New Year, my love."

Eddie smiled up at him, running his fingers down his cheek. "Happy New Year, baby."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Kat ([cinematicnomad](https://cinematicnomad.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr) for all your help!
> 
> The title is from [Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas](https://youtu.be/CreWsnhQwzY?t=47)
> 
> Talk to me @ Tumblr: [woodchoc-magnum](https://woodchoc-magnum.tumblr.com/)


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